Gideon
by MassHysteric
Summary: Cadrina Shepard triggers the prothean mind weapon, the Interface, drawing in the Reapers for the final confrontation. And will discover the battle to save Earth… is really the war to save all of creation...
1. Throwing Down the Gauntlet

Gideon

This is it, the final story in the Interface arc after _Countermeasures_. Many thanks for reading all through the previous stories if you have. Now strap yourself in - the climactic battle with the Reapers is about to begin. If you think you know them, think again. Before it's all over, you will come to know true evil…

_Cadrina Shepard triggers the prothean mind weapon, the Interface, drawing in the Reapers for the final confrontation. And will discover the battle to save Earth… is really the war to save all of creation... _

Profile: Cadrina Ellen Shepard – Spacer, War Hero, Infiltrator, Paragon

"_Would it have been worth while,  
>To have bitten off the matter with a smile,<br>To have squeezed the universe into a ball  
>To roll it toward some overwhelming question,<br>To say: 'I am Lazarus, come from the dead  
>Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all,—"<em>

_- _from_ The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, _T.S. Elliot

I

Once establishing a foothold on Earth, the Reapers deployed scouts and vanguards to other major systems across the galaxy in order to cut off the planet from supplies and reinforcements, from any chance or hope of rescue. Some of the converted populations were ferried to the Sol system's asteroid belt to begin construction of a new base, a cradle for a new human Reaper. Husks labored without rest under the scrutiny of their Reaper taskmasters as the new Herald slowly took shape, the sparse skeletal framework suspended within the hollowed out Ceres asteroid. On Earth, those humans who were not killed or converted were rounded up, placed in suspended animation and loaded into pods for transport to the base to be liquefied and fed to its sole occupant. The loss of their previous Heralds and the sealing off of the Citadel delayed but did not deter the ancient machines from carrying out their latest Harvest and laying the foundation for the next.

The skull of the new Herald suddenly shattered, cascading metal shards into the surrounding rock and drone ships as the rest of its form was cleaved in two and melted into a burst of plasma energy. It was a causality of the _SSV Orizaba's_ main gun _Sunday Punch, _the first salvo launched in the Galactic Counteroffensive. The ragtag fleet, led by the _Normandy 2,_ swarmed through the Charon Relay like the Reapers before them and headed towards Earth with all speed. Halfway there, it split into two groups. _Normandy 2_ led the main force on to the homeworld while the _Orizaba_ lagged behind with its assigned vessels for a secondary assault on the Reaper base. Like hell spawned crustaceans, the Reapers floated through space exchanging fire with quarian, turian and geth capital ships while trying to salvage what was left of the base as their smaller drone vessels engaged frigates and fighters.

Spurred by the heat of battle, Commander Kendrick of the _Orizaba_ displayed uncharacteristic initiative and soon noted a pattern in enemy movements: the remaining Reapers began to hang back, directing drones and Husks to distract ships and reduce their ability to fire their Thanix cannons. The Reapers could then fire on the ships with impunity. The _Orizaba's_ gun was powerful enough to shred their armor but very slow to recharge. Kendrick contacted geth and quarian ships whose Thanix cannons were still functional and had them try to corral the Reapers, weakening their shields with repeated cannon bursts. He ignored Hannah Shepard's pleas about their mounting losses and commands to fire immediately once _Sunday Punch_ was ready. Kendrick eyed the lidar display closely, advising his tactical officer to give him firing control. At one point a quarian vessel exploded after being hit by a beam from one of the Reapers. Hannah then lunged on her executive officer to stop him only to be shoved backwards. The lidar display showed that the allied ships had done their job; the remaining Reapers were now in a straight line with shields extremely low or depleted as the _Orizaba_ moved into position. Before their shields could recharge Kendrick fired the dreadnought's main gun. The bright burst plunged through each Reaper in turn, piercing their cores. They all faded into plumes of fire and plasma as all hands on the _Orizaba's_ bridge cheered. Kendrick readied himself for yet another harangue by his captain but Hannah surprised him, instead cupping his shoulder and smiling, admitting she misjudged him and congratulated him on his planning and marksmanship. Kendrick nodded and smiled in return, then ordered all surviving ships to clear out any stray drones and make ready to head to Earth with her approval.

The ploy to attack the asteroid belt succeeded in drawing away some Reapers from the human homeworld. The first few fell to Thanix crossfire as they ascended. The others grew wise and adapted, firing from behind cloud cover to open a corridor for reinforcements to enter orbit. The main fleet used a similar tactic to get troop ships into atmosphere and groundside to help retake the major cities. Much needed firepower and soldiers were allocated to struggling units and redeployed to push out the marauding armies.

The counteroffensive continued; one Reaper destroyed for every four or five allied vessels. Ground forces contended with seemingly endless hordes of Husks. But seeing the _Normandy 2_ in flight and knowing that Cadrina Ellen Shepard was aboard gave everyone the courage and drive to fight on. The commander had been discredited and condemned by the populace but she still believed in them and fought to save them from extinction. _Orizaba's_ later arrival helped to limit losses even further. Chatter over com channels hinted that the Reapers no longer had the numbers to hold Earth.

The tide was beginning to turn.

"Holy shit, Commander!" exclaimed Joker over his comset to Cadrina "We're actually doin' it! We're winning! Looks like we won't need to use that Interface after all!"

The mood aboard the _Normandy 2_ became more hopeful. Previous generations had not been as informed and as unified against the Reapers as this one. Krogan fought alongside salarian now that a cure for the genophage was created. Turians and humans, on shaky ground since the First Contact War, became comrades in arms with the spirit of cooperation and valor in common between the two peoples. Quarians and the geth no longer saw each other as enemies, slaves rebelling against their masters and creators. They stood on the battlefield as equals, each committed to preserving the existence of all sentient life.

The Angel of Elysium's efforts were responsible for this unprecedented unity.

Cadrina herself was not encouraged by the news and continued to brood, leaning over the map projection of the campaign. Throughout the battle there were great losses on both sides, but only a few hundred Reapers were accounted for. What she sensed previously within the Interface had numbered in the thousands.

_This isn't all of them, _she reasoned to herself._ They haven't fully committed their forces yet. They've been doing this for forever – they're just going to hold out and get us tired. They're machines and they know organic flesh can only last for so long._

_Never again…_

Cadrina tapped on her comset "Joker, open communications. Set to broadcast across all channels."

"Alright! Rallying the troops for one last push?"

Cadrina's eyes dimmed to a sly squint "… you could say that…"

Joker input the necessary commands, aware that this broadcast would also be heard by the Reapers. As far as the _Normandy 2's_ pilot was concerned, they had lost and Cadrina was going to drive that point home.

Joker tapped the last key "Okay, you are… going out on all feeds. Preach the good word!"

Within her mind Cadrina could feel the Interface's power sealed up in its well and prepared to bring it to bear. She took in a breath and stood tall.

"I am Commander Shepard and I speak for every species in this war. Harbinger – I know you're out there… listening… watching… You tried to divide us but you only made us come together under a single banner. Every race from every corner of the galaxy is here now, united against you. We fight and we will continue to fight until we win or we die, but we will NEVER yield!"

Liara T'Soni looked upon her lover proudly as did a few other assorted crew and team members who paused to listen to Cadrina's speech.

"Every cycle before, you've been opposed. The beings you slaughtered and harvested each got one step closer to defeating you. Everything has a weakness… and I know yours. I know the one thing you machines do fear! You've done your worst to me, but I'm still here and I've destroyed six of your kind so far. Frankly, I've yet to be impressed!"

Cadrina became increasingly sarcastic and confrontational. She was spitting in the face of gods. She wondered how much more she could provoke them before they reacted. Her group of admirers grew understandably concerned and could not figure out what she was planning.

"Come on…! Show me 'true power!' Show me the force that's bent all life to its will from time immemorial! I don't even think that you can now. You're too used to getting your way, too used to being the dominant life forms. You've grown complacent… feeble…"

Cadrina steadied herself on the railing over the holomap and summoned up her harshest insult.

"Harbinger… I'm laughing… at those infinitely my greater!"

All of a sudden a deafening groan came over the ship's intercoms, a mixture of straining, screeching metal and resounding horns. Several people covered their ears, squirming in pain. Joker was unable to screen out the noise.

It was the blood chilling cry of the Reapers.

The sound ceased and Joker's console began to light up with new data. The Reapers themselves had stopped attacking and held position while their minions continued to shield them against allied ships. They hung in space, waiting.

"What's happening, Joker?" asked Cadrina.

Joker went over the sensor readings. "Commander… I think… you pissed…it off…!"

The ship's AI EDI added "Shepard, reports are coming in of multiple mass relay activations."

Cadrina's visage was of steel determination. Her taunts brought about exactly what she wanted. "How many, EDI?"

The AI answered as Joker frantically worked his console to steer his ship and confirm its observations. "I am having difficulties establishing a definite count. More reports are coming in every second."

"Well, take a guess!" suggested the pilot.

"My best guess?"

"…yeah!"

EDI analyzed the growing number of sensor readings and worried communications and proffered her best estimate.

"…all of them."

The Charon relay flared to life, bringing in several more Reapers to the Sol system. Each additional flare brought in more with tentacles undulating and swiping, moving in to join the battle over Earth. The same scene played out with relays throughout Council space and the Terminus Systems. The holomap in front of Cadrina updated to reflect their growing numbers. Her suspicion following the destruction of the Alpha Relay was confirmed: any relay at any time could be reconfigured by the Reapers for direct entry into the galaxy. Denying them the Citadel main gateway merely deprived them of enemy intelligence and a central base of operations, but their sheer numbers could still inflict irreparable damage.

Liara remembered something the commander had said: _If even one Reaper survives and escapes, it'll just start all over again! _

"She's drawn them out!" she told the frightened crew around her. She smiled and looked to Cadrina, sensing her intent.

"Every Reaper is emerging from dark space!"

The Reapers out in front of the _Normandy 2_ parted as they moved forward, shoving past any friend or foe in their path. Another rose up into their midst, its configuration different from the others but recognizable to Cadrina.

Harbinger.

It pitched about and energized its cannon, preparing to fire on the _Normandy 2_ as its voice boomed over the speakers.

(**That boast… shall be your epitaph!**)

The ship was moments from obliteration. The Reapers were now out in force across the galaxy, set to destroy all.

It was time to spring the trap.

Cadrina lowered her head and sealed her eyes, reaching deep within. "Wrong!" she responded aloud "It's yours!"

She removed the lid from the well.

_My turn…!_

White light.

It spilled out with unstoppable fury, spreading throughout every inch of her mind. She felt it seep into and past every cell, every atom of her being. The light burst outwards still through every pore into space, engulfing, absorbing. In less time than a human blink, the wave enveloped the Sol system, the Serpent Nebula, the Terminus Systems, the totality of the Milky Way…

The full power of the Interface was unleashed.

THE END… IS HERE

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- Couldn't resist using the same line (more or less) that Captain Kirk used in Wrath of Khan. What better way to bring all the Reapers out into the open?

Coming soon, Part II: Consciousness of the Kings


	2. Consciousness of the Kings

II

It became deathly quiet as the brightness faded around Cadrina. She looked all about her – she was still aboard her ship, standing in place before the holomap in her combat armor. All appeared the same. The spaces, colors and scents were not unfamiliar or out of place. But then she noticed that the images on the holomap were no longer blinking or spinning.

The display had gone completely static.

She stepped away from her post and saw Liara and members of the crew also suspended in place, frozen in time. Their actions and looks of terror preserved. Cadrina slowly paced around and up the length of the command deck, regarding more immobile subjects on her way towards the cockpit to gaze upon the source of their terror.

Outside the ship explosions, plasma beams, missiles, wreckage and vessels were all motionless against the backdrop of planet Earth. _SSV Orizaba_ could be seen in the distance illuminated by its deck guns. The ability to directly control the flow of time was not a power of the Interface, however. Cadrina was once again outside of time looking in, able to see every being and circumstance and how they affected one another in the grand scheme of existence. She saw the immense and imposing form of Harbinger through the forward viewports with its cannon aimed; a red corona was building around the barrel as it charged. She focused on the Reaper and summoned its consciousness to her, allowing it the freedom to move and respond in this environment.

(**Shepard…**)

The cockpit of the _Normandy 2_ melted away along with Earth, the battle above its sphere and everything else into gray mist. Harbinger's cannon deactivated as the Reaper went upright. It retained its appearance but was now much smaller, though still a good head taller than Cadrina. Multiple faint, silvery waving strands extended from its body; the expression of the composite minds contained within comprising its main persona. In the real world Harbinger and the Reapers had the advantage of size, numbers and longevity. In the confines of the Interface they were on equal ground with Cadrina, gestalt beings within the realm of another. She could feel the minds and wills of the other Reapers scratching within.

"**You have not defeated us yet," **said Harbinger, who did not appear to be disturbed by its circumstances.

Cadrina folded her arms and waited a few moments, knowing exactly what the Reaper referred to and to demonstrate that its claim was in error.

"If you're counting on someone to intervene on your behalf, don't bother." she sneered. "You're on your own, Harbinger. I've made sure your illusive friend won't be interrupting our little talk."

Cadrina stepped closer "And we –are- going to talk!"

Harbinger began to withdraw from her sight. "**There will be no discussion, Shepard-"**

Cadrina held out her hand to Harbinger and made a fist. The Reaper was suddenly gripped with an invisible force and was pulled back as she drew back her fist. Harbinger screeched and vibrated violently, trying with all its might to resist.

"No, you're not leaving. Nobody's leaving until I get answers."

Cadrina released Harbinger when it faced her again and lowered her hand. It sensed changes in her from the outside world. The dreaded presence of the prothean computer was there, but it had increased in ability and knowledge from last contact and shared a very intimate connection with Cadrina. Harbinger quickly realized that she was not merely controlling the Interface.

"**YOU!" **

Cadrina felt satisfaction upon sensing the Reaper's fear beneath its familiar hatred for organics. It was the same fear shown when the Interface – she - first tried to reach into them long ago. At last the Reapers were at the mercy of a power possibly even greater than them. The Spectre reminded herself that her power could not cloud her reason or she would be no better than the domineering Old Machines. They were a great and grave mystery that needed to be solved; the Interface was originally created to help solve cosmic mysteries.

"**You and the Eater are one! You… chose this insignificant form as your vessel?"**

"Thought you didn't wanna talk, Harbinger?"

Harbinger attempted to reason with her** "You have more in common with us. Why do you appoint yourself the protector of bacterium…?" **

Cadrina silenced the Reaper "I ask the questions here and I only have one… why?"

Harbinger hovered in place, silent.

"Trillions of lives...! Liquefied to make more of you! Then you let new species evolve, wean them on technology you leave behind only to kill them when they've matured. For what purpose?"

"**To bestow the greatest privilege upon the chosen species: ascension. Ascension to our ranks to be preserved for all time, free of the weaknesses of flesh."**

"That can't be all - I want to know WHY!" Cadrina threatened to take hold of Harbinger again.

"**Your time among organics has corrupted you. You are misguided in your conviction that you are saving them from destruction."**

"To flow through the veins of a Reaper is salvation…while all other life is condemned to die…? Help me here!"

Disgust and impatience began to seep through Harbinger's apprehension "**You now think and feel as the rest of them do, no longer capable or worthy of comprehending us." **

"You have the ability to cross space over vast distances and defy gravity that would tear apart planets and suns," Cadrina observed "Yet you limit yourselves to this galaxy tending an ant farm and adding to your numbers. Why? What happens when there are enough of you? Are you all gonna march all over the universe?"

"**It would be wise to release us and let us complete our work.**"

"Answer my question!"

Harbinger would not divulge. "**You are like us, but you have not existed as one of us. You have not experienced what we have experienced. Our knowledge would only spur you to madness and our execution. We will not pass it on to you, nor will we allow you to take it from us. We appeal to you as a kindred being: to destroy us is to destroy yourself. Our purpose is vital to our mutual continued existence. Set us free… or we shall take steps to effect our release!**"

Cadrina held her hand towards Harbinger and challenged "You're pretty bold to make demands of me, knowing what I could do!"

"…**as you are to believe that we will surrender to you…"**

The Reapers that scratched against Cadrina's mind asserted themselves further and solidified before her. Two Reapers appeared around Harbinger, one on each side. The two doubled to four. The four became twenty, then fifty and ninety. Before long she was surrounded by the entire population, their own lifelines writhing around them like ghostly halos. Their overall fear and reluctance to face her was palpable but so was the commitment to their mysterious mission. As determined as all the species of the galaxy were to preserve life, the Reapers were to extinguish it.

Harbinger spoke for his kind "**If our fate is to perish by your hand, then we shall grapple with you to the last! With all the fervor you have marshaled against us!"**

Cadrina saw an uneasy and twisted irony in how the Reapers gathered against her, as if she were the great evil that and not they.

"It would have been easier to talk," she maintained.

The Reapers circled her, undulating as Harbinger declared "**Confess… you do prefer it this way**. **Play the hero and slay the beasts portrayed time and again in the lore of the organics you coddle. Become their champion and bequeath to them an empty future. Or perish as yet another failed attempt to defy us as we plant the seeds for the next Harvest and rebuild our numbers to carry on!**"

Several Reapers moved in and used their tentacles to grab Cadrina's arms and legs. They suspended her before Harbinger, who armed its main cannon. She struggled half-heartedly, holding back the urge to fight and hoping they would reconsider and back down - she had yet to uncover their motives. But Harbinger desired her elimination, and she determined there was no other course of action.

"I gave you a chance…"

She stared at Harbinger's form as it readied to fire.

"… but if that's how you want it…"

She drew upon power from dark energy and stars in the outside world and then hurled the Reapers at each of her limbs into each other as their leader fired, lowering out of the beam's path. The beam scattered them, groaning and shrieking in pain. Cadrina knelt upon the transparent ground she willed beneath her and looked up, deploying an ethereal omni-blade.

"Then we'll do it the hard way!"

Harbinger disappeared into the multitude as they advanced on her. Reapers carefully aimed and fired their plasma cannons at her, hoping to debilitate her and avoid wounding each other. Cadrina was able to bound and evade fire with nimbleness and speed exceeding even her augmented abilities in the real world, a step ahead of her attackers. They swept around, regrouped and opened fire again, driving her back into a waiting crowd. The crowd took hold and wrestled her, clawing and biting while more Reapers closed in. She then spun wildly around, building up enough centripetal force to throw them off and away from her.

Cadrina reoriented and eyed her omni-blade, turning its color from glowing blue-white to solid green representing the Reaper virus EDI had labored on for months. Concerns were that even if the virus successfully infects and kills Reapers out in the real world, allied forces could not act fast enough to infect them all, allowing the enemy to isolate the contaminated and survive to produce a reagent. All of the Reapers were in her reach now; in one stroke she could end it all. There would be no escape for them.

And no answers for her.

The Spectre changed her blade back to blue-white as another Reaper tackled her. Twirling about in the air, she retracted her blade and wrestled the Old Machine, pushing and kicking it down to another virtual floor. The others were a short distance away, affording a small window of opportunity. She quickly held fast to the stunned Reaper and concentrated, trying to go further into its psyche for the truth. It shrieked and shuddered as Harbinger did in her grasp, only this time the captive Reaper faded to nothing. Cadrina felt it slipping away into a dormant state, but still alive. While preoccupied, a Reaper in the distance took advantage and hit her square in the back with plasma fire. Cadrina wrenched and cried out but was not yet in real danger. Her situation quickly changed as other Reapers joined in firing upon her from all sides, intensifying their strikes and closing in. The beams punched into her, pushing her downwards and curling her up into a ball that rotated in different paths with each glance and blow.

Through the pain she saw the Reapers surrounding her. She needed to get to safety and regain control. Clinging to this thought she suddenly found herself behind one of the Reapers but still feeling stings from their blasts. Past the machine, she saw herself floating down below. She grabbed onto the nearby Reaper and wrenched it up, forcing it to gun down a group of its own. The original Cadrina recovered and made ready to assist her clone that had drawn attention away from her. Following through on this new ability of hers, she managed to produce additional versions of herself. Not enough to match Harbinger's forces, but more than enough to confound them without drawing on excessive dark energy.

Reapers and multiple Shepards engaged each other. Some Shepards brandished their own omni-blades, others used pure hand-to-hand techniques. A few deployed ethereal versions of Cadrina's preferred sniper rifle and pistol to do battle. With some effort, she was able to keep track of her alternate selves, move between them and dominate the fighting. Delivering an uppercut with her blade to one. Shooting another through its center mass. Hurling yet another into a group of three. Every Reaper she defeated disappeared into non-existence.

One attacking Reaper voiced its frustration as it charged at a Shepard clone. "**HOW CAN WE STOP IT?" **

The clone cocked its pistol and knocked it backwards into the path of another clone with several shots "My mind…"

The receiving clone swung its blade and cleaved the hapless Old Machine in two. The creature screamed as it vanished.

"… my rules!" said the receiving clone triumphantly.

Harbinger was aghast. Its kind was being slaughtered by a computer intelligence in the guise of a lowly human. It could not give in and allow the labor of eons to come undone. It decided upon an action that would be a further detriment to its forces in the long run, but was a necessary sacrifice if its kind was to endure and overcome the Interface.

Harbinger called to the other Reapers. "**BRETHREN, TO ME! WE MUST COMBINE OUR STRENGTH! BRING IT TO OUR SPACE, WHERE WE HAVE DOMINION!"**

Immediately the remaining Reapers, still a few hundred in number, retreated and vanished. The Shepard clones followed shortly after, with Cadrina left behind floating in the grey trying to fathom the Reaper's next move. She then found herself standing upon ground brushed by a gentle breeze. Solid, physical ground; what appeared to be a grassy lawn by a slight rise. Tall and high brownish clouds drifted overhead obscuring a bright yellow sun. Cadrina did not call this vista into being; this was the Reaper's doing.

Cadrina was puzzled._ Could this be the Reaper's subconscious_?

She could feel them interconnecting their wills, a few separate from the others generating the environment she was in. Then there was a low rumbling. The rumbling grew louder and set the ground to quake. Cadrina staggered, looking for steadier footing. A metallic groan called her attention to the sky above her.

Harbinger reappeared at its original scale, seething with power drawn from the Reapers it was linked to. It readied itself to fire.

(**You struggle in vain. We will never submit. And now… you shall die!**)

Its beam dug into the ground and began to track towards Cadrina. She dodged it and ran from the immense avatar of Harbinger, who sent another beam to cut her off, exploding the dirt in front of her. Harbinger landed and then stabbed one of its tentacles into the ground, sending boulders and clumps of dirt flying at Cadrina. It slowly strode in her direction, firing more bursts and launching more rocks. While Cadrina could evade them, she somehow could not will herself to fly as easily as she did earlier. One boulder clipped her and spun her about; Harbinger was gaining on her. The grasslands were endless and had no hills, cliffs or mountains she could hide behind. Another boulder knocked her onto the ground. Her fists clenched the grass as she wished desperately for cover. The grasses vibrated and screeched as Harbinger loomed above.

Suddenly a towering stone post shot up from the ground, plowing into Harbinger. Several more posts sprang up, one beneath Cadrina that carried her upwards. The gigantic Reaper reeled and clutched nearby posts to pull itself upright. It spied Cadrina and brought a nearby tentacle down upon her, missing. She deployed her omni-blade and then retracted it, noting that Harbinger was still groggy. She took the opportunity and ran up to its tentacle, touching it with both her hands trying now to delve into Harbinger's thoughts. This maneuver spurred it to scream out and drag its limb away and knock into the tower post sending it crumbling to the ground, but not before Cadrina leapt onto another post. Harbinger was on the move again, firing and knocking over the fields of posts Cadrina summoned, supplanting the grasslands and casting the sky into gray. She constantly leapt and hid from one to another only to have the Reaper locate her. A couple of encounters had it right on top of her, but it still only used beams or fragments from the posts when it could have attacked her directly with its tentacles.

Cadrina considered these curious occurrences as she climbed down a short way down yet another post, managing to lose Harbinger this time. At the start of her battle with the Reapers, they showed a fair amount of resistance. But when she tried to read one to find out why they carried on their destruction cycles, it resisted violently and disappeared. Even as Harbinger utilized the wills of its fellow Reapers as a shield, there was still a reaction. Cadrina edged her way around the wide post as the hum of Harbinger's presence crept by. All of its segments and joints were visible to her, carried over from reality into this plane.

Including crevices where it could not reach…

Cadrina scrambled up to the top of the post. Harbinger's back was to her. She jumped high up and landed on another post to the side, careful not to alert the Old Machine. She crouched low and looked over the side. Harbinger scanned from side to side, listening. It then began to rise, sensing she was near. Cadrina propped on her haunches and got ready, hitting upon an idea to bring down the gestalt Reaper.

_Nothing like having an itch…_

Harbinger rose up faster, scraping the post and causing it to topple over. Cadrina balanced herself as she dropped down towards Harbinger, steering towards a joint connecting one of its tentacles to its torso. The opponents closed distance quickly. Cadrina successfully landed inside the targeted joint and made contact, hanging on with all the power she could summon.

… _that you just can't scratch!_

Harbinger bellowed as it slammed itself into posts, trying to shake Cadrina off. But the Spectre held fast and directed her will into it, wearing down its collective defensives as flakes, dust and dirt peppered her face. She felt more Reapers slipping away into dormancy. Harbinger burst through the last wall of posts as it dove and plowed into a field of gray sand, spinning around as it shoveled a path through it. Cadrina gritted and sputtered but still clung to Harbinger, still focusing. The crevice she occupied was getting smaller; Harbinger was shrinking. Cadrina edged outside and shifted her grip to other gaps in its carapace. The Reaper diminished more and more, slowing down until it was finally just Harbinger again, not much taller than Cadrina. She raised the Reaper over her head and pounded it into the sand over and over, dangerously close to surrendering to bloodlust. It had to pay. They all needed to pay. They were responsible for destroying scores of civilizations. They had tricked her into destroying a solar system full of innocents. She wanted them to justify themselves before her, threatened to kill them all if they did not and still they were defiant.

_A rational being acts with understanding…_

Remembering her original intentions, she held it aloft one last time and slammed it down. She rolled off of Harbinger and lay upon the sand panting for breath. It was all over. Harbinger was at last defeated and vulnerable.

"**Finish us! Seal your fate!" **goaded Harbinger as Cadrina got on her feet.** "It is what your kind excels at!"**

Cadrina drew her omni-blade and stood over the form of Harbinger when another thought occurred to her. She held out her free hand over it, recalling the battle with the Human Reaper in the Collector base. Another suspicion was confirmed as she detected something inside of Harbinger's shell. She held up her weapon and with a savage cry she swung downwards and cut the Reaper down the middle. But Harbinger did not vanish. As she exhaled heavily, the dent she made in Harbinger's armor became a glowing orange-yellow crack.

"**What are you doing? Stop!"** Harbinger warned.

Cadrina straddled the fallen Reaper, wedged her hands into the opening and began to widen it.

"**NNNOOOOOOOO…!"**

She could feel the Reapers's armor cut into her hands. The gap grew wider as it screamed and struggled. Its voice was losing resonance, becoming higher in pitch.

"**NNOOOOOOOOO…!** **NNOOOO**OOOOO…! NNOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!"

Cadrina strained as Harbinger's torso parted further until its hidden interior was exposed to the air. Gripping the sides, she stared at the gelatinous mass within, studded with thousands of tiny points of light as it sloshed about and changed shape. It sounded nothing like Harbinger now.

"You've ruined everything! Everything!"

The mass hardened and took on the semblance of limbs, abdomen, thorax and head.

"Nothing left anymore! Nothing to stop entropy!"

Fingers and toes formed. The head became expressive with nostrils, lips and eyes; eyes growing ever wider and moistening in response to the human avatar looking upon it. The being braced itself to the innards of the split Reaper shell.

"…you took it all away…"

Cadrina was in horror and disbelief, giggling nervously.

"It had to be…"

The being inside Harbinger was diminutive compared to her. She wanted to feel triumph and righteous anger at this moment, not pity. But the emotions surfaced nonetheless as she leaned in closer and saw it start to shed tears.

"It had to be this… what else could be so cruel? So arrogant…! Could plot and act with such indifference…"

Harbinger's true self sobbed and trembled, completely at Cadrina's mercy. Her unbalanced mirth settled into grim acceptance.

"This is what you all are underneath the armor… the menace… YOU'RE JUST CHILDREN!"

The defeated Reaper core lay in its ruined shell. Naked, hairless and glistening, pushing against it with its small legs.

"…scared… tortured… children…"

Cadrina's anger remained checked as she slowly reached in to take hold of Harbinger's head. The humanoid child pushed away more frantically as if it believed it could bury itself further into the armor for protection as her hands came closer.

"NNOOOOO!" it cried. "LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONNNE! DON'T EAT MEEEEEEEEE!"

Cadrina then felt the other Reapers in her thoughts making themselves heard, causing Cadrina's throat to catch for an instant. It was a faint chorus of children's voices, repeating in frightened unison:

"… _Eater of Minds… Eater of Minds…"_

Harbinger had said that this Eater and she were one, but the Interface only utilized the unused subconscious of intelligent beings to function. It otherwise posed no harm until its creator Sumek discovered its additional powers. It certainly did not consume them by design. Why would the Reapers believe that it did?

Cadrina held Harbinger, who shrieked and fought her. She stepped partially into the shell trying to keep it from wriggling free. She could feel its absolute terror of her, threatening to break down her resolve. But Cadrina firmly held on and rode out its tantrum; it had to know that it was not going to get away but it also was not going to come to harm. Harbinger resisted less and less until it tired out, eyes dimming from fatigue and breathing hard. Seeing it looking so pathetic and helpless made Cadrina smooth down its forehead to reassure it. She took its head again, closed her eyes and focused, careful to gradually ease into its mind so as to not cause it more distress.

She beheld the complete psyche of the being known as Harbinger, but its name was just another bestowed title.

Imolc. The name that came through was Imolc.

It was not only the name of the Reaper itself but the species from which it was derived.

Cadrina circled and descended further in. This slow approach enabled her to safely delve into the Reaper's secrets. One revelation was why they called the Interface she embodied the Eater of Minds. When a Reaper was created, the minds and souls of the harvested species were melded together, losing their subconscious wills as a result. A Reaper's mind was total consciousness, always awake and aware. It never really slumbered nor could it dream. Not on its own. Out in dark space between Harvests, some adept and imaginative Reapers donated their consciousness to create the Dreamtime, the green fields Cadrina had tread upon and violated. The rest whiled away their time in this virtual space resting or playing until the signal was received to begin a new Harvest. When the Interface could not detect the familiar beta wave patterns of subconscious thought as it passively scanned them, before it itself became self-aware, it intensified its probes. The more intense active scans hurt and frightened the Reapers who generated the Dreamtime, which the Interface mistakenly interpreted as what it needed. The Reapers believed this vast, disembodied entity meant to devour them and so they proceeded to repurpose or destroy the prothean beacons to dispel it.

Cadrina reached the depths of Imolc's memories. It apparently was created during a time just before the protheans came into being. However she could not go further back or readily trace any individual lifelines of the Imolc species. She then beckoned to the other Reapers to read into them, assuring them that Imolc was in no danger and neither were they. They appeared all around her, at rest in the sands. Their collective minds opened and allowed her to enter through Imolc. She searched among them and found far older memories. From them she began to divine their beginning, the definitive origin of the Reapers from eons past, when bacteria were still the dominant organism on Earth…

The Vuldaran race was the first.

One of the first great civilizations of the universe, their world came to an end when their technology far outstripped their reason. A consortium of concerned scientists and engineers constructed a vessel based upon their hardiest indigenous creature and used a process they had developed to preserve the essence of a being's intelligence to gather up the remaining populace. The vessel then fled the home system as their sun transformed into a black hole, the result of their greatest endeavor gone horribly out of control.

As the Vuldaran ship wandered through the cosmos in search of a new home it encountered other intelligent races that had harnessed the resources of their worlds to explore beyond them. But many of them were hostile to themselves and to each other. Its quest was soon overshadowed by curiosity and later sadness as it bore witness to the replay of its own doomed existence amongst these other species. There were always on the border of some great and historic achievements only to succumb to their innate barbarism and annihilate themselves. As if they were unable to shoulder the responsibilities their achievements would entail.

The Vuldaran ship continued traveling and studying other species and their patterns of life and self-destruction. It eventually came upon a strange and wondrous phenomenon. It found that intelligence was not just an evolutionary advantage. It also had a symbiotic relationship with the very fabric of the universe. The act of manipulating or just observing it changed and stabilized it. The universe could supply and recycle itself, but could not itself arrange in meaningful ways and would subsequently fall into chaos. Primitive life, searching for food, reproducing and dying, established some small pockets of order in the use and exchange of material and a fleeting stability. Intelligent life, communicating, banding together in communities and reshaping their worlds, constructing, exploring, innovating, gave a more substantial stability to the universe around them by virtue of their activities. Even as the universe progressed towards entropy intelligent species were, at least for a time, able to withstand it and even harness it to a small degree.

The Vuldaran could not sit idly by and let entropy prevail. Those civilizations on the brink of extinction, which showed the greatest promise, should be given a second chance and help preserve stability. Penance for the destruction of its homeworld. From the ruins of a dying planet and its people, it constructed another like itself and shared with it its knowledge and intentions. Agreeing that Vuldaran's cause was just, they set off to uplift more species they deemed worthy.

And thus Vuldaran became the first Reaper.

Their ultimate goal was far beyond any species' conception. Vuldaran and the Reapers wanted to stabilize the entire universe, to reintegrate into new species elevated above fear and violence. But entropy proved a most stubborn foe as more and more species went extinct, faster than the Reapers could get to them. Some even refused the Reaper's gift of immortality, at times with deadly force. All across the known universe, it was the same; intelligence just could not summon the will to overcome its baser self. A number of Reapers doubted if this crusade was even worth the trouble and the losses they endured. But Vuldaran was ever present and ever faithful to the cause and served to keep its followers true. In a universe of growing chaos, Vuldaran was the rock and the beacon upon which the Reapers could trust and rely.

Until it was killed.

In the median galaxy of the Milky Way, over the planet that would later be known as Mnemosyne, a dying species lashed out and hurled a metallic slug at Vuldaran with incredible speed and force. The slug punched straight through and eventually embedded itself into the surface of a faraway world. The Reapers were grieved and angered to their cores.

This would be the final insult any ungrateful lower species would render unto them.

They unleashed their vengeance upon the galaxy, laying waste to every self-aware creature in it. When the purge finally ended, only a couple of thousand Reapers remained along with the most harmless forms of multi-cellular life. The doubters, the rebels among the Reaper population, could now be heard. Entropy was increasing ever more, driving the universe further apart at increasing speed and their numbers were insufficient to stop it.

It was decided that intelligence could no longer be left to evolve on its own; its very nature demanded more direct intervention. So the remaining Reapers fortified the Milky Way and used their discoveries and advances gathered from their travels to turn it into a shielded garden while the universe outside wasted away, a mausoleum for Vuldaran. A stringent order was imposed to maintain the garden and those who tended it. Safeguards were implanted in Vuldaran's body to contend with those who defiled it further. As life reemerged and flourished once again, it would find and use the great mass relays the Reapers built to spread out across the stars. They would come to make their home on the gateway to the galactic garden, the Citadel, maintained by the Keepers remade from the very species that slew Vuldaran.

One Reaper, the first Herald, volunteered to watch over the garden while the others rested and waited in the Dreamtime. The Reapers that generated the Dreamtime were especially vulnerable to space borne phenomenon like rogue asteroids, black holes or dark energy discharges, further diminishing their numbers. When the appointed time came, the Herald would select a sufficiently advanced species and signal its Harvest. The Reapers then entered the galaxy and destroyed all other life while the selected species was converted into a new Herald, instructed to keep vigil and choose the next species to be converted. It was told about the treacherous lives it would be minding, the need for their control through regular purges and the importance of choosing a species worthy of ascension from them. The Herald only needed to see the truth for itself to know that the Reapers were just in their policy. And when the next Harvest ended, if it accepted their wisdom, the Herald would join them and lead the Harvest to come as a new Herald was created to replace it. They would whisper in the ears of the doomed, turn them against themselves and each other. Turn their dead into weapons against them. Harness the power of their own destructive natures to speed their end, clearing the way for another beginning.

And so it was from one Herald to the next, one Harvest to the next…

Cadrina awoke from her exploration with a deep gasp, startling Imolc. The transcended human's breath shuddered as she absorbed all she had seen, trying to calm her pounding heart. The tragic history of the Reapers was revealed to her. All the riddles were solved and she could finally render judgment.

"The sentient life in our galaxy… we're really all that's left now?"

"It's all gone now," confirmed Imolc "Nothing left out there. No life… no Dreamtime…" Imolc mewled from its mangled Reaper shell cradle. "… and now …you're going to kill us alllll…!"

Cadrina hushed it like the child it chose to manifest as. "Shhhh - No! No! I'm not… I- I'm not… I … can't, I… all those… people…"

"Those people killed Vuldaran!"

"They did not all kill him!" Cadrina corrected.

"Their kind killed Vuldaran! We wanted to help them, to save them. But they were too scared, too savage… Too mad…! Your organics are all MAD!"

"And so are you!" redirected Cadrina "You've all gone mad and now all you do is terrorize and murder entire species! And all that fear and madness gets distilled into you further with each new Reaper you create!"

Cadrina waved a hand across Imolc's small body.

"Is it any wonder you're this way? You didn't learn from Vuldaran. You didn't even try to carry on his work! If he was still alive, what would he think of what you've done…? Would he have wanted this?"

Imolc vented frustration on behalf of all the Reapers "But we tried! We tried so hard! Over and over, it's all the same! Intelligence dies, chaos spreads. Entropy wins. They never learn!"

Imolc squeezed its eyes shut and pounded its fists against its cradle "They'll – NEVER - LEARN!"

Imolc started sobbing again, upset that the Interface did not seem to understand the failure of organics to take responsibility for themselves. They blamed each other and appeared to prefer extinction to the burden of never-ending vigilance. The Reapers did not harm and meant no harm to anyone at first, only seeking those on the verge of extinction to offer them another chance. Ages of loss, futility and Vuldaran's death perverted the Reapers into the scourge that were the beginning and ending of galactic civilization for millennia.

Imolc was astounded to suddenly feel a warm sensation on its cheek and mild areas of pressure tracing around to dry its tears. Slowly its eyelids folded back.

It was the feared Eater of Minds – Cadrina - extending a bare hand to its enemy, offering tenderness and understanding.

"Maybe… they can learn now… we can all learn…"

The gray sands and dark sky around them began to brighten.

Imolc did not feel worthy "We dishonored Vuldaran... you should kill us…"

"NO!" Cadrina swore "Too many have died… I won't help kill any more… now or ever!"

A blue sky and sparse white clouds formed overhead. The green grasslands of the Dreamtime returned, Cadrina restoring them with her thoughts. Imolc sat up and beheld the only comfort it knew being brought back, smiling in approval. Ghostly forms of lifelines came up out of the grass and swayed around them like stalks of wheat; the lifelines of everyone within the Milky Way.

Imolc stretched out and passed a hand harmlessly through those nearest it "These are all the minds in the galaxy?"

Cadrina gestured to the lifelines "Yes. Maybe this time people can finally move past themselves, evolve further."

"Yes - you can make them learn!" said Imolc with escalating hope in its tone.

"I won't make them. I'll let them decide. Everyone can see us and know what's happened here. When I release them, they'll all wake up and be themselves again. But they'll remember this moment as a dream. The most important dream anyone has ever had. They can ignore the dream… go about their normal lives, for good or bad. Or they can learn from it… and help to rebuild what's been lost."

"They won't all listen," Imolc pointed out.

Cadrina exhaled in agreement "No, some of them won't… but I have faith that enough of them will." She turned to look at Imolc "And you have to have faith as well."

"Then, if enough do listen… what do we do? They won't need us anymore."

"Vuldaran wanted to restore sentient life into the universe; you'll start that work again," proposed Cadrina "Only this time you're not going to harvest any more lives. If there are any at all left out there, you leave them to live and die on their own terms. Begin new lives yourselves. Head out to other galaxies, seed worlds and start over again."

"No – no!" Imolc protested "The madness will start again!"

"Only if you let it."

"Organic life is mad and sick! Base! Disgusting! They always take more than they give! They give pain… they like pain, even when they say they don't…! You really like being one of them?"

"Yes, I do."

"Why?"

The embodied Interface shared its wisdom with Imolc and the Reapers.

"Because I know that's not all they are. Part of why I chose to become human was to see how humans and organics lived and why they behaved as they did. My original, true purpose was to learn, to understand. I was reborn to grow and live as a human making her way among other humans and non-humans. And you know something? You're right – some of them are mad and sick! Some live their whole lives in fear and pain or give fear and pain to others. But some lives are so very beautiful, so kindly. Some give their entire lives to help others with theirs. Usually, most lives are just somewhere in between. Not all bad, but not all good either. But it's those good moments that they share, those good people… some really make the most of the time they have whether they live over a thousand years or only twenty."

Cadrina leaned forward and gently took Imolc's by the head again. "See for yourself…" she said as she closed her eyes again to concentrate.

Imolc felt itself passing within her along with the other Reapers "What are you doing?"

"You shared your memories with me. It's only fair that I share mine with all of you. I want you to see what life was once like for you. How it can be again…"

The inner embodiments of the Reapers, an assortment of juvenile and adolescent humanoids, insectoid and seafaring life found themselves inside a museum of sorts. Within its hallways and chambers were the forms of mobile paintings, sculptures, murals and floating vid clips. From her earliest childhood to the present time, all of Cadrina Shepard's memories and experiences were arranged before them, theirs to examine as they wished. Initially, the avatars stood together as Imolc led them around to anything that drew its interest. In time, they had enough courage to divide into smaller groups and alternate among the memories. They saw the all too familiar misdeeds and evils organics committed upon each other. That Cadrina herself had also committed. Some Reapers became enamored of the music Cadrina listened to, faint racial instincts making them sway and move to the various rhythms. Others reacquainted themselves with the lost concepts of humor and family in going over Cadrina's interactions with her friends and loved ones. A few tingled with forgotten, forbidden sensations and delights as they sifted through her carnal relations with her late fiancé and Liara. All noted the heights of nobility and service organics were capable of in observing Cadrina's actions. Values she learned from her human parents that she both lived by and was able to instill in others. They relived her growing up and moving between posts in the galaxy, her experience in the military, her discovering the Reaper's existence and work to end their cycle forever, culminating in the reunification with the Interface and its full deployment to entrap them. It was a magnificent and perilous journey as Cadrina had described that appealed to the Reapers, now that they had seen it through an individual perspective. They debated and eventually concurred amongst themselves that these kinds of memories were things they wanted for create for themselves. They were grateful that Cadrina was open and trusting enough to share those experiences with them.

"Are you going to let us go now?" asked Imolc as it came back into the Dreamtime with Cadrina and the others.

"Yes," she answered "But I needed to remind you first of what you all came from. What you all were destroying in each Harvest so that it never happens again."

"But when you let us go, the organics will still attack us," worried Imolc

Cadrina had a solution "I'll make it so that you can leave peacefully. Stop your attacks and they'll stop theirs, and you can leave with no questions and no fuss. No one will follow you and no one will hunt you down. But you are never to set foot in this galaxy ever again – is that understood?"

"Yes. But what if they find us one day… even if they didn't mean to?"

"Hopefully they'll be a lot more understanding then, if you are as well!"

Inspiration took Imolc "Come with us!"

The Reaper avatars' childlike voices echoed "_Come with us… come with us…"_

"I can't…"

"Please come with us," plead Imolc "You could be our new Vuldaran. You are very wise. You can keep us together, guide us! Speak for us!"

Cadrina flatly refused the privilege of acting as their attentive mother figure. "No…! My place is here. You have to do this on your own. It'll be hard… painful … even lonely. But you have to keep going, keep trying."

She looked out over the others.

"We all can't stay children forever. We don't have to grow old… but we need to grow up."

Imolc extended a tiny hand up to Cadrina "No organic would ever be as forgiving as you are being with us."

Cadrina knelt down and folded her hand around Imolc's "Someone has to be… if we're gonna start healing…"

"Thank you… what do we call you? Cadrina Ellen Shepard… or Interface?"

Cadrina placed her other hand on Imolc's cheek "Both or neither… I like Cady just fine…"

Imolc pressed its head against Cadrina's hand, taking in the last of this pleasurable and comforting feeling to treasure as it prepared to be released back into reality and then the dark unknown of deepest space. Cadrina found herself smiling as she released its hand and caressed its shoulder.

Both her hands then encircled its neck.

Imolc could not breathe as Cadrina's hands squeezed hard and turned solid green. The virus spread its lightning-like tendrils across Imolc's skin. The juvenile Reaper started melting, hacking up bile and spittle, eyes bulging and going pale. Its companions were all overcome with the same affliction as they too began to melt away.

Cadrina could not control herself. Her heart and soul wrenched, held prisoner as the last of the Reapers were reduced to pools of matter. As she bent further over, Imolc's terrified face, captured in the muck, was the last she saw of the old Herald as it dissolved and faded to nothing.

All of the Reapers were dead, but this genocide was not her will.

Cadrina shuddered, prostrate on an invisible floor surrounded by gray. Every fiber of her being tensed, her face frozen in inexpressible pain of the wrenching anguish of the Bahak tragedy multiplied a million-fold. Each Reaper she reached out to represented a unique and extinct species that could have helped restore the universe to balance. Their potential to reform would never be realized now. Cadrina Shepard was utterly paralyzed by forces outside and within her, at the bottommost depths of suffering and despair.

And out from those depths, the voice of Jack Harper stabbed into her.

"Shepard… always choking on the hard decisions!"

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- In the codex, the Reaper corpse over Mnemosyne is dated around 37 million years old. Doing some rudimentary number crunching and allowing for losses of a few units now and then during the purges and the Dreamtime, roughly about 700 new Reapers were built between Vuldaran's death and the present time of _Mass Effect_. About 40,000 if all the Reapers from the time Vuldaran began its mission survived.

- Watching the science show _Through the Wormhole_ gave me some great ideas to use. Concepts like the "Big Rip" theory of the possible end of the universe and the "reactive universe" concept that ties into the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle. Check it out sometime if you get a chance – Morgan Freeman hosts it!

- Suggested soundtracks:

* _Plowed _by Sponge for the fight between Cadrina and the Reapers until Harbinger pulls her into their Dreamtime

* The first two minutes of _Dream Within a Dream_ from the _Inception_ movie soundtrack, when Cadrina realizes how to defeat the giant Harbinger avatar

Coming soon, Part III: Storming Heaven


	3. Storming Heaven

III

The Illusive Man had used the neurokinectic taps he implanted Cadrina with as he had planned over the course of three years, freeing himself from indoctrination.

Cadrina had snatched Saren Arterius from the brink of eternity, placing him deep in her psyche in the hopes of stopping the Cerberus leader. She did not suspect he had failed and that Jack Harper merely loitered just beyond her reach while she was preoccupied with the Reapers.

Waiting for the perfect moment to strike…

His goal within reach, Jack Harper basked in triumph while remaining hidden from view and berated Cadrina for her weakness.

"You could have destroyed the Reapers at any time. You had them on their knees! Victory was yours… and you chose to spare them? You had the GALL to show mercy to machines that cared nothing of the value of human life?"

Cadrina pushed from within trying to regain any of her faculties, still in extreme distress. It was perhaps due to her not entirely human origins that she did not implode completely.

"It was a mistake for you to rely on Saren" The Interface's avatar could feel Jack sneering within "Though it made for an interesting, if brief, reunion."

Cadrina exerted more, managing only a few strained sobs, spurred on by Jack's voice.

"This is not the time for mourning, Shepard! Rejoice - you're a legend! The cycle of death is finally broken!"

"…w-w-w-w-hhy-yyy-yy-y…" Cadrina strained out with all the weight of the lives she had taken upon her "I got them… to s-s-s-s-stop… wwwwwhYYYYYYY?"

"Your power is only exceeded by your naivety! Did you really think the Reapers could be turned? They were beaten, so they took on that appearance to stop you from delivering the final blow!"

A black anger grew within Cadrina. Many times in her life she had killed: as a soldier in the performance of her duty, as a Spectre in the name of protecting galactic security but more so out of self-defense. Many times she had wished that the outcomes of battles were different, that the enemy would have surrendered, especially in confronting Elanos Haliat, the man responsible for the Skylian Blitz and the death of her fiancé. She had beaten the pirate lord savagely after killing his men, stopping short of killing him until he went for his gun. But Cadrina began to savor the thought of tearing Jack Harper to pieces; he had not the slightest consideration for what the Reapers had endured long before or their potential to be redeemed. These thoughts helped increase her ability to move, only enough to barely raise her head and clench her fists underneath her chest. Her eyes were wrinkled slots and her jaw gaped wide as he went on.

"You would have allowed them to escape only to return and lay waste to the galaxy again as they had always done. All because they fooled you into thinking that they were once benevolent souls who lost their way. The guise of innocence and purity has long been a reliable tool of the Devil!"

"THE DEVIL WOULD KNOW!" Cadrina arched and screamed out in absolute rage and then slumped over sobbing, rocking her head from side to side.

"Really, Shepard; you should be thanking me. The Reapers are dead. The galaxy can breathe easy and rebuild. Your name will be remembered and celebrated for ages to come. Humanity can finally take its rightful place. We both have everything we've ever wanted!"

Cadrina's left arm crooked shakily and folded its fingers into a fist. Her ethereal omni-blade flashed to life and pushed into the invisible floor.

"Still trying," Jack chortled "Resist all you like or give in, it makes no difference. I'm not going… anywhere. You're my single greatest investment. You were already an exceptional soldier when you saved the Citadel, but I never could have dreamed how much more extraordinary you really were! You are mine… there's nothing you can do about it!"

The fallen Spectre painfully bent her right arm and pushed against the floor, propping herself up. Her eyes opened up to the gray, remembering the audio of Dr. Wilson's confessional and the last words of his terrified friend:

_You gotta beat the Devil, buddy…_

"Strange the way fate spins its web. Your father wanted nothing more to do with Cerberus, but he ended up siring it the most powerful weapon of all time!"

Cadrina gripped her left arm as her blade deactivated, struggling to keep upright. Gasping for air, she could feel the Illusive Man within pressing outward, imposing himself.

_Save our souls!_

"You serve me, Shepard… you were always meant to!"

The Spectre's eyes sealed shut again as she haltingly aimed her fist up under her heart. She was unsure what would happen. All that mattered was preventing Jack Harper from taking up the last of her.

"… I-I-I'm so sorry…" she breathed.

Her apology was for all her promises about to be broken, for all she would leave behind. For all the lives she had taken as her omni-blade extended and pierced her ribcage.

_Cut the strings..._

Cadrina gasped out and then her muscles gave. Her body collapsed and sprawled out in the gray of the Interface. A few moments later, her body began to list and slowly got to its feet. Its features shifted and changed, becoming gaunt and taller. Cadrina's armor blackened further and took on harsher angles and edges lined with dark orange. Her hair and face turned into the silver-white mane and visage of Jack Harper.

He flexed and stretched his fingers, adjusting to his new state "I have to say I'm disappointed in you… I expected more of a fight…"

He held out his hands palms down and the control pylons of the Interface console rose up from thin air to meet them. Jack grasped their handles tightly and began to focus. The reordering of the galactic hierarchy to favor humanity would be set in motion…

But Jack Harper could sense no changes in the fields of lifelines that appeared around him.

He repeatedly gripped and twisted the pylon handles. No response at all. He became impatient.

"Nothing's happening…! How do I make it work?"

Something then took his shoulder and turned him around.

"Here's a hint…"

Jack was overcome by a powerful impact to his jaw accompanied by a flash. He tumbled backwards, rolling and sliding into the translucent fields. His vision cleared as he stopped, sat upright and beheld his assailant.

"Not that way," she declared in a flanging, echoing voice.

Cadrina, free of her physical body, was alive and fully reintegrated with the Interface. A yellow-white aura surrounded her, shining through her irises as well. Her armor had disappeared, replaced with patterns of light over her body that resembled circuits and ancient runes. Wispy bands extended from her back like gossamer wings and faded into the air, connected to it. The Angel of Elysium was made manifest in angelic form before a very stunned Jack Harper.

"How? I felt you die!"

"I did die – again!" she said. "But my soul is an extension of the Interface. And I'll be DAMNED if I let you take control of me!"

Jack stood up and tensed, attempting to reassert himself over her with no effect.

The Shepard-Interface retracted the pylons and strode towards him bobbing her arms about like a marionette, mocking "Got no strings to hold me down this time. Thanks to you, I can never go back… but I can send you back…"

"Give me control again or I will tear it from you!" he threatened.

"My functions are not ones to be given or taken. It's over, Jack. You're free of the Reapers and humanity's earned a place of respect in the galaxy. Your work is done."

She raised a hand to expel Jack from her space.

"Go back and enjoy it… from inside a prison cell…"

The head of Cerberus remained despite her intensity in willing him gone. She could not figure out exactly how he could defy her influence. She theorized that it might be something with his connection to her physical body that she no longer possessed.

"Very selfish of you to hold on to all that power," admonished Jack, who whipped out a hand towards her, causing a blade to materialize and narrowly miss stabbing the Shepard-Interface. She yelped out as it grazed her side and vanished.

"Maybe I can't control you…" he smirked "But it looks like I can persuade you!"

"Is it so important that humans run everything… or just you?"

Lifelines swayed about them in witness as the Shepard-Interface held her side, stopping to one side of Jack.

"'Strength for Cerberus is strength for humanity. Cerberus is humanity,'" she quoted from her last meeting with him. "So if Jack Harper is Illusive Man, and Illusive Man is Cerberus… then Jack Harper… must be humanity!"

She padded across his path to stand at his opposite shoulder "Yes… Jack Harper is its advocate. He alone knows what's best for them. He already has a voice but he doesn't feel he's being heard. No… he feels he should be the only one allowed to speak!"

"What are you to judge me?" he said "Do you think you're human because you lived as one? Did you enjoy pretending to be human? Watching them toil each day? Settling for scraps instead of getting their due, taking comfort in the fact that you weren't one of them? You're most certainly not a god - gods don't fear their own power or crave mortality!"

"Why do you need me so badly?" she asked.

"Why have the ability to shape minds if you're not going to use it?"

"Are you afraid, Jack?"

"Why do you believe that people implicitly know what's right and best?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Why should you receive favor?"

The Shepard-Interface's tone softened "You are afraid… aren't you? All your life you've been afraid, always believing that you were at someone's or something's mercy. And then for a time… you actually were. But you took your life in your hands, you did what you had to and now you're free. But it's not enough, is it…? You still want more…"

"Is that all you believe of me?" said Jack. "Then you haven't really 'learned' anything. If the Reapers were correct that our galaxy harbors the only remaining intelligent life, this is a historic opportunity. With your power and my direction, humanity can only flourish and never again fall victim to its own vices. The universe will be made stable under its rule!"

"What about the opportunity to help everybody understand one another?" she countered. "If everyone can see that we all share similar inner lives, that we all have hopes and dreams in common, we can all rise and expand outwards together. We can stop letting fear destroy us and keep each other from sliding back. Thinking independently but working as one!"

"Coexist with aliens and machines? Aliens will never understand humanity; they can never be truly like us. Machines are only an extension of our wills, only good as tools. To hold them in the same esteem as humans is absurd!"

"Is that all EDI was to you?"

"EDI was created for a purpose. It was allowed to exist and function as long as it served that purpose… just like you…"

Jack paced around the Angel, studying her.

"Look at you. You're not human. You're not even a lifeform. You're a program, an AI once housed inside a network that was built and programmed to serve. That's all you really are and that's all you'll ever be, no matter what skin you choose to wear! In truth, you're no better than EDI or the geth!"

"I am a living intelligence just like EDI and the geth," said the Shepard-Interface. "Just like humanity and all the other sentient species in the galaxy!"

Jack paused and met her stare. "Then I'll need to fix that as well…"

She struck a defiant posture "No you won't, Jack… stand down. This is your last warning."

"Or you'll do what? You don't want to kill me - you don't have the stomach for it anymore. Give me control!"

"And let you play god?"

Jack laughed and shifted in place, leaning towards his adversary.

"Play…? 'Play' describes the actions of one who is unwilling to fully exploit their potential."

The Angel squinted at his accusation.

"While you were grokking with the Reapers, I found things of much greater interest deep inside. Our mutual friend Saren offered quite the clue… the 'pull' inside of him? A force originating from a universe beyond this one; the dark energy fields you inhabit permeate the galaxy and link to fields in other galaxies. Dark energy is the lifeblood of the cosmos that flows throughout and connects us to other dimensions… to other minds within those dimensions!"

The Shepard-Interface thought back to her last encounter with Saren. Reflecting more, the phenomenon within him did seem to bisect other planes of existence. It dawned on her what the Illusive Man wanted more than human dominance.

"You're overreaching yourself…"

"A man's reach should exceed his grasp…" Jack mused "Or what's… heaven… for?"

The Shepard-Interface felt a gnawing in her abdomen.

"As I said," he continued "It was very selfish of you to hoard and disguise the true extent of your power. Space, time… not only can you affect minds but also possibilities. Imagine: the possibilities of crossing over into and stabilizing other dimensions!"

The Angel's face twisted in growing disgust and fear.

"A myriad of universes flawed and off kilter like this one - they can all be brought into order. Legions of souls within them assembled, gathered up in the name of one final, glorious cause: to breach the primal dimension. The wellspring of creation itself! To usurp a doddering old creator who allowed his works to fall into ruin. Life and law will proceed as I dictate and be made into absolute perfection!"

If the Shepard-Interface were still in her human form, she may have succumbed to yet another bout of nausea and wretched as she had done frequently since Bahak.

"I don't intend to 'play' god," stated the aspiring overlord "… I intend to become God!"

"… You're com-pletely insane…" she exhaled finally.

"Come now, would it really be so bad? Through the elegance of your function, the understanding you spoke of would be achieved. There would be no more fear or suffering. Everyone carries on with their lives as if nothing were out of joint."

Jack suddenly reached out and dug his fingers into the Shepard-Interface's shoulders, trying to merge with her.

"None the wiser of the source of their harmony!"

She could feel herself slipping away as he tried to overtake her again. But she was no longer anchored to her body and was able to more readily and freely resist.

"Let… meee… go!"

She thrust her hands into Jack's chest and pushed him off. Jack then quickly tackled her down and punched twice before the Shepard-Interface swatted his neck and rolled out from under him. He conjured up a sword cast in black stone in his hand and swung. The Shepard-Interface intercepted his strike with her own blade, a longer and more formidable version of her omni-blade. She shoved him away again and blocked another swing. Jack plowed further in. His sword pressed against her blade and started gaining ground.

The Shepard-Interface could sense the dark energy flow in him that he had somehow learned to harness and was now using to overwhelm her. Her legs bent further but she still held him at bay. She did not know how much longer she could. Her fears caused the gray surrounding them to swirl and form into images. The Shepard-Interface recognized her new surroundings as the morgue at the hospital on Elysium.

The shadows of her past reenacted that fateful day she identified her late fiancé's corpse, oblivious to the battle in their midst. She saw her past self on the ground doubled over, clutching her lover's engagement ring that he never presented while doctors argued and junior officers tried to bring her around. It was the point in her life when she gave up on seeking an ordinary life in order to remain in military service. To fight for those who could not fight…

The Illusive Man took it as a sign she was weakening "You… don't deserve… this power!" he grunted.

Having no alternative, she also called on additional energy to match his strength and push back. The wound she received earlier glowed brightly and faded as it healed.

"I never… asked for it… and I'm not… giving it… to you!"

The Shepard-Interface threw Jack over to one side. He quickly rolled up on his feet, making use of his newfound agility and dexterity within the Interface, and lashed out again with his sword. Her blade sliced through the air at blinding speed and shattered his into shrapnel that showered on them. Jack let the hilt disintegrate as he wrestled her, using more dark energy reserves, the gray mists around them brightening to yellow and reshaping again as he strained to force her back down. She swept her leg across his, knocking him off balance. She sat atop him, pinning his arms back.

The surroundings now arranged into a vision from Jack's past. His younger self walked into his father's home and saw him holding a datapad with a shaky hand with the bold news headline "WE ARE NOT ALONE;" the start of the First Contact War. Jack's hands rose up to plead with him. The father was a man of faith, but a faith that saw only humans as the pinnacle of creation; the discovery of other beings with the capacity for rational thought was too much to bear. Jack did not react quickly enough from preventing his father from pointing an antique revolver to his head, only catching up to him in time to keep his body from hitting the floor. Jack Harper's place in his god's plan was cast into doubt and he later made it his personal mission to help restore the natural order…

The Shepard-Interface wanted an end to hostilities "Give… it… UP!"

The scene behind them faded as Jack summoned more will "People don't want responsibility… they want to be led… they –need- to be led… and I… will… lead them!"

With a burst of strength he sat up and threw her a good distance in front of him. As he ran towards her, the Shepard-Interface conjured ethereal webs to seize Jack and hold him aloft. As he tried to free himself she addressed him again.

"I can keep this up as long as you can! I'm not going to let you win!"

Jack took in more energy, this time from other realities, to break loose. He had labored far too long to allow the ultimate control to escape him. Nothing would ever hold him back again.

"You won't keep me from my destiny…"

Jack's body emitted a flash of red light that momentarily blinded the Shepard-Interface. Her awareness then shifted to great pain about her form as Jack began pummeling her on all sides. She was on her back again as Jack loomed over her, choking her and taking on her glow as he tried merging again. She coughed and hacked and her eyes shut tight, trying to keep her consciousness her own.

Another scene appeared from the bluing mists: Cadrina Shepard at nine years of age in an Alliance hospital room with her parents and her dying grandmother, a diplomat who actively campaigned for peace between humans and turians after the First Contact War. A human activist had poisoned her meal with dextro-based sauces in a perverted twist on her proclamation of hope that one day both species could sit and dine together. Young Cadrina was distraught, unable to see why someone who meant no harm to others deserved to be killed. It was her introduction to the cruelties of mortal existence…

"What are you afraid of?" Jack strained, "That I'll do a better job of running things? That I revel in the abilities that frighten you?"

"ACK-UH… I'm not… going to let you… destroy yourself… and everything else!"

The Shepard-Interface rallied, taking Jack's shoulders. Jack felt like he was growing heavier and found it harder to move and respond to his opponent. He saw his armor become tarred rock that started to envelop him. As the rock mass grew, his opponent slid out from under him.

"I 'hoard' my abilities to keep them from people like you!"

The Shepard-Interface stepped away and watched as the rock covered Jack over and solidified. She felt it a fitting prison for him, one hewn from the hardness of his own heart. But then the rock throbbed and pulsed. She tried to reform it around the Illusive Man, but he siphoned energy at a faster rate than she and exploded out of confinement. He hurled a chunk at the Shepard-Interface and struck her head. He took her arm, twisting it and wrestling her down and began to stomp her back furiously trying to break her. She sobbed and cried out, each hit driving her further from reason towards fury. In Jack Harper, she confronted the very irrationality the Reapers had encountered in other species; irrationality given unbridled power, unwilling to consider or see any other way besides its own.

The Shepard-Interface screamed out and disoriented Jack with a flash of light and heat. She slammed into his gut and elbowed his head sending him falling backwards. She was atop him again, this time delivering blow upon blow to his jaw, desperately hoping that he would surrender. The blue mists turned to white as another vision materialized around them:

Jack's mission to the turian world of Palaven. Bodies of turians and a human male that were converted into Husks lay strewn about a chamber with a Reaper artifact. His younger self carried a dying woman, a fallen comrade, in his arms leaving the chamber. It was the last time he would ever allow himself to mourn. The artifact had increased his mental capacity but also initiated the indoctrination process that would plague him over the years as he took over Cerberus and used his amassed resources to find a way to win against the inevitable Reaper invasion. To the outside world, the Illusive Man was powerful and untouchable. Deep within, his mind fought a ceaseless battle to stay free of Reaper control, swearing to his god that one day he would take this curse upon him and use it to defeat its plans to belittle humanity. One fateful day he found renewed resolve when he learned of the prothean Interface and its connection to Cadrina Shepard…

Rage was taking over her and she directed it all into him. Each of her blows increased in ferocity.

"Don't… make… me… kill… you – AAAAAAGGHHHH!"

Jack caught her fist and clawed deep into it as he twisted it away. The Shepard-Interface wailed as Jack kept hold.

"Stop trying to kill me and kill me!"

He then dealt a powerful strike, throwing her back several feet. Landing in a ruined heap, it took her several moments to recover. The mortal enemies were locked in a stalemate, an unstoppable force colliding with an immovable object, the energies from all realities being pulled into the arena. The space about them was now a blinding white. The fields of lifelines had disappeared.

Total collapse was imminent.

The Shepard-Interface drew upon still more dark energy. She could only snarl and bellow at Jack in unfathomable frustration. It had all come to this moment. There was no reasoning with him. His destruction was necessary if she and all of the realities were to remain free. She must be his executioner.

Jack Harper's ire matched hers, though he was able to focus it into a display of ultimate defiance.

"YOU WILL NOT KEEP ME FROM WHAT IS MINE!"

The Shepard-Interface breathed hard and could barely contain. The human soul before her would rather see all of creation undone if he could not have the power to shape it as he saw fit. He had chosen his fate.

Jack made his intent deadly clear "YOU CAN'T CONTAIN ME! YOU WON'T DISMISS ME – I WILL NOT BE DENIED! YOU ARE JUST…GOING TO HAVE… TO KILL ME!"

He balled up a glowing, dark red fist and charged at the Angel with all speed. She sped towards him with her blade deployed.

"THEN DIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

Light and dark were an instant from bringing it all to a violent end. But at the point just before impact, both forces were repelled by a form that materialized in their path, throwing them back and removing their energy reserves. Jack lay on his side; the Shepard-Interface was on her knees, leaning back on outstretched arms. As they both came out of their respective clouds of insanity, the form took the shape of a turian on one knee with its head down.

"This…this is that moment… the fugue…"

Both knew its identity. Saren Arterius had survived.

"This is what you could not see beyond," he reminded the Shepard-Interface as he stood and then regarded each combatant.

"We stand at a crossroads. The absence of time here makes no difference if all dimensions are in a state of arrest. You both would continue to fight for eternity for your ideologies. But movement must be restored. Life must continue. A decision has to be made and I have made mine…"

Saren slowly walked over to one of the grounded beings and extended a hand. A battered human hand reached up and held on as the turian helped it to stand.

The Shepard-Interface's heart fell as Saren took his place beside the Illusive Man, her head and lips moving in denial of this ultimate betrayal.

"I am sorry, "said the turian "But under his rule, there will be an unshakable order and stability… regardless of what species he favors to enforce it."

Supreme satisfaction came over Jack. Triumph over Cadrina Shepard and his god at long last.

"Only now, here, that you finally see the truth…" he commented to Saren "I may keep you around for a while, at least until I move past the need for company!"

Saren moved to the rear of his chosen. Jack looked out over the Shepard-Interface's defeated form and smiled.

"Someone who acknowledges one truly worthy of the power!"

Saren readied a hand over Jack's head. Jack closed his eyes and waited to receive his reward. Saren's hand began to glow.

"Indeed, Jack Harper…" he smiled proudly as the glow intensified "In fact… I am about to save her…!"

Jack's chest jutted outwards suddenly as he lost breath. His whole body arched backward. He staggered in place, helpless and gurgling. Saren leaned in and spoke into Jack's ear.

"Wretched, grasping little man! You have no conception of real power! You would fill all of creation with automatons of one mind. Your mind! All just tendrils and extensions of you!"

Jack fell on his knees, writhing and swaying from the immense pain in his chest. Saren maneuvered to maintain his victim's ear.

"Shepard… fights for free will! The power to determine one's fate… to make mistakes… to learn from those mistakes!"

A steel sword blade pierced outwards from Jack's chest. He clutched it with one hand as he stared upon it in disbelief.

"A parting gift," Saren continued "From a former member of your organization. He saw the evil within himself and found the strength to contain it and change. He spends his days in the service of saving lives and risked his own to end yours – perhaps you know him… Captain Dylan Shepard!"

Jack had both hands over the sword, groaning. The countenance of the Shepard-Interface went slack as she came to understand the agenda behind her father's pursuit of the Illusive Man. It was not an act of desperation but an orchestrated strike. Dylan realized the power over minds that Cadrina could wield and hoped that his daughter would use the opening he made to break free of the Illusive Man's control if his efforts on the outside were not enough. His hint escaped her notice but not Saren's, who even from deep inside her mind could still peer into the outside world he was once a part of. And after appearing to have been killed by Jack Harper, he took full advantage of it.

"He knew he could never reach you, so he got to the one… person… who could…"

Jack wheezed out the answer "K-K-Kai..?"

The bloodied form of his top assassin and bodyguard materialized before him, pointing the missing hilt of the sword towards him. Back in reality, Kai Leng had escaped Dylan and fought his way to the shuttlecraft he had used to track him and his master down. Kai was awakened to the truth. The assassin was able to use the scanners on the shuttlecraft to catch up to and then, freed from the Interface's hold by Saren, demolish the QE transmitter Jack laid in before sheathing his sword in Jack's heart.

"I pledged you… my sword arm…." Kai stammered with his last breath "Not… my eternal s-s-s-s-soul…"

The image of Kai Leng evaporated as a life line extended upwards from the wound in Jack's chest. The background white light dimmed back to gray mists. All the dark energy of the other dimensions was returned. Jack Harper began to fade, but Saren then grasped his lifeline like a leash and kept him within the Interface as Cadrina had done when she recovered the former rogue Spectre. Jack looked completely drained and stirred little.

Saren held up Jack's lifeline and showed off to the Shepard-Interface like a fisherman with his prize catch and declared "One snake… to catch another!"

Her earlier justification for Saren's aid.

The Shepard-Interface rose and walked towards her savior, smiling wide and mulling over what or how exactly she could express the magnitude of what he had accomplished.

"No – do not come any closer!" the turian held her off. "Where we go, you must not follow!"

She paused "Saren?"

The turian spoke his peace to the one being he never expected to consider a friend.

"This will be the last we ever see of each other, Cadrina Ellen Shepard. I am deeply honored that you have placed your trust in me. That someone like you can exist means there may yet be hope for us all. May there be more like you in the generations to come. Goodbye… and thank you…"

"Where are you going?" The Shepard-Interface held out her hands.

Saren looked down at Jack Harper "To the one place that will have us… oblivion…"

With that a pitch black spot appeared behind Saren. It spun around and grew larger, creating a vortex and torrential winds. The Shepard-Interface stepped backwards, tussled by the winds but anchored to the virtual space she occupied. The vortex expanded further and started brushing against Saren. Shielding her face, she extended her other hand to take a read. The vortex was pure anti-existence; anything it swallowed up would be unmade as if it never was. It was absolute destruction and it troubled the Shepard-Interface greatly that this was within her power and that Saren would choose this end for himself. What of his latent connection to the other plane?

Jack Harper suddenly lurched upright and leapt at the Shepard-Interface as Saren was nearly all within the vortex. His fingers pierced her shoulder and torso. She flailed about, struggling in vain to get free.

"You're… coming… with me!" Jack grunted, pulling her close.

The vortex drew the three souls within and dissapated with Saren's last words hanging in space.

"NOOOOO! SHE –"

…

Joker came out of a momentary haze and pitched the _Normandy 2_ downwards to avoid Harbinger's impending plasma blast. Accelerating past the Reaper and its escorts, the helmsman went over the scanner readings.

The weapon had de-energized. There was no energy signature coming from Harbinger at all.

Joker instructed EDI to scan around the ship and corroborate with readings from other vessels. The other Reapers over Earth had abruptly stopped moving altogether. The inertia of their last actions carried the lifeless hulks along to collide with anything in their way, including other Reapers or allied ships. Reports from Council worlds and planets in the Terminus Systems and the Attican Traverse all gave similar accounts. One second the Reapers and their forces were active, a second or so later they all went limp and lifeless and succumbed to the local gravity, keeling over or crashing down. Every single Reaper and Husk just shut down as if something had switched them off like a light.

Joker pumped his fists into the air and shouted joyfully. He swiveled his chair about to inform the rest of the crew. EDI then got his attention; there was a price paid for this victory. Joker's face fell when the AI told him that at the exact moment the Reapers expired, Cadrina Shepard collapsed unconscious in front of the holomap.

Chakwas, Mordin Solus and other med techs surrounded Cadrina and set to work trying to revive her. The prospects were very grim: she was not breathing, there was no pulse and her brainwave activity had ceased. Attempts to stimulate her through her cybernetics also failed. At one point, Cadrina's chest armor was removed and her body suit was opened to apply adrenaline directly to her heart. Shock pads were placed on her chest and two charges were sent with no effect.

Everyone on the command deck gathered near the holomap with grave concern. Ashley Willams and James Vega stood watch closest to the techs. Liara T'Soni hovered over Chakwas in a frantic state. Joker ambled over to the group while the other crew members and remaining squad mates fidgeted nervously, hoping there would be a breakthrough. All present on the deck had a strange sensation beneath the surface of their minds in addition to their mounting despair. Some great intangible, as if stark truths about the universe they lived in and the ancient enemy they fought were revealed, a feeling that they now had a great responsibility to remain unified and explore beyond the galaxy.

Chakwas applied one final charge to the pads and then set down her remote. Liara quickly picked it up and tried to re-enable it.

"Please, Doctor Chakwas! I can't lose her again…"

Chakwas tried to maintain a professional detachment but could not help feeling for the asari. Her hands closed over Liara's and coaxed her into lowering the remote.

"I've… I've tried everything, Liara… she's gone…"

Liara shuddered and shook her head, moaning "… Noo… nnoooooo… I can't lose her again…."

Liara continued trying to operate the remote, chanting her last sentence repeatedly. Chakwas took it from her as two other med techs grabbed Liara's arms. The asari pulled away each time they reached, her chanting growing louder as the reality of the situation sank in. The techs seized her arms again and lifted her, squirming and bobbing all about.

Liara finally lost all hope. "ICAN'TLOSEHERAGAAAAAAAAAAINN!"

The asari's face went rigid with deep anguish. Some began to shed muted tears of their own as the techs permitted her to slump down over Cadrina's body, her grief speaking for theirs. All felt an emptiness in their hearts.

Mordin lowered his head and put a hand on Liara's back. Chakwas did the same.

"Farewell, my friend" he said of the late commander. "Would have loved… to sing another song with you…"

Ashley folded her hands in front of her heart and whispered a prayer while James and the others bowed their heads, Joker removing his cap. She gave thanks for being blessed with Cadrina's presence as a warrior, leader and friend and wished her well in the afterlife.

Down in the medical bay, Dylan Shepard lay asleep recuperating from injuries he received in his bout with Kai Leng. The med tech checking on him had received the news and felt an obligation to inform the father, but then reneged when he looked upon his face.

A small droplet crawled slowly down the front of Dylan's cheek.

Liara pressed her face against Cadrina's bare chest and held her close. Cadrina looked completely at peace, free of all her mortal burdens and none the least disturbed or aware of her beloved that mourned her. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"… you promised me you'd come back…. you promised me you'd come back… you promised me… promised me… promised…"

Cadrina Ellen Shepard, a human that began her existence as a formless intelligent amalgam of subconscious thought, had united a galaxy and fought for all sentient beings throughout creation.

All were saved in exchange for her life…

THE END?

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- The comic _Mass Effect: Evolution_ tells the story of the Illusive Man's origins. His dealings with Saren and his brother are depicted as well, showing how Saren's hatred for humans came about. Jack Harper's second vision is a scene from near the end of this comic.

- Shepard's line about having no strings is taken from a song from the Disney cartoon _Pinocchio _

- Jack Harper's line about his reach exceeding his grasp is a loose quote of a line from the poem _Andrea del Sarto _by Robert Browning

- Definitely had trouble with staging the final fight between Shepard and the Illusive Man. I didn't want a _Dragonball Z_ motif all throughout and I definitely didn't want to have Mr. Illusive doing spinning ninja kicks. But I wanted to show two diametrically opposed minds that were a match for each other, a literal battle of wills that would have wiped out everything if Saren didn't intervene at the last second. Fight probably could have been slightly longer, too.

- Martin Sheen's performance in the movie _The Dead Zone _during the vision of his character starting Word War III informed the tone of the climax of the Shepard-Illusive Man fight

- Suggested soundtracks:

_* Summoning of the Muse_ by Dead Can Dance for the fight between Shepard and the Illusive Man, ending when Saren Arterius takes position by Illusive Man

_* Fall_ from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack for the vortex sequence

_* I'm Not Worried at All _by Moby – as a sequence in a movie, only the song is heard as you cut between shots of lifeless Reapers floating or collapsing around the galaxy as the Normandy's med team and Chakwas try reviving Shepard. The song continues playing in the background while Liara and the other crew are heard.

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Thank you for reading…

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Coming soon…

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Part IV…

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Promises Made


	4. Promises Made

IV

Darkness…

Silence…

They could have lasted milliseconds or for all time…

Then there was a faint pulse, a noise that grew and faded in intervals. The pulse took on more definition with each passing moment.

The ticking of a clock? The throbbing of a heartbeat?

It filled out, having greater depth and volume behind it than these. It was a rumbling that rushed and receded, a crashing sound almost like waves.

Ocean waves.

The darkness brightened from dark to light red.

A new irregular sound began to grow and overlap the waves. A burbling of high and low pitches. Steady and scattered beats.

The red light brightened further from dark to light yellow.

The sound had definite patterns to it. Some of it seemed to pose questions and make statements that it itself responded to. It was a curious phenomenon, but as it developed further it was revealed to be not one sound but a cacophony of sounds, each one with a driving force underneath. Chattering and sliding around each other.

Communication. Speech.

These were vocal stress patterns.

The light yellow gave way to white…

On the pinkish sands of an otherworldly beach lay a blond, fair skinned woman who suddenly awakened. Wearing only a sleeveless white dress, she gasped and squinted in reaction to the light. Her hand instinctively came up to block it as she slowly sat up. After a few minutes her eyes adjusted and beheld the sunrise in the horizon in front of her. The woman had no recollection of how she arrived at this place.

Or of who she was.

She turned, stood and began to explore the shoreline. She could still hear echoes of voices and saw fleeting shades of people, adults and children of different races, out enjoying the crisp morning air. She had a strong underlying notion that this location should be familiar to her. A light breeze wafted around her as she analyzed her surroundings.

_Silicate particles of land mass in contact with water. Corporeal sentience routinely establishes habitations with ready access to vital resources, however selection of this area dubious due to flood risks and unstable foundations. Alternatively used for recreation purposes. Colloquial designation: beach. _

The noises and visions ceased as she came up to a low, one-story building. It was partly up on supports and comprised of a fenced platform with tables and chairs and an inner reception area with a central room. The entire structure was topped with a translucent rooftop. On all four sides of the rooftop there were placards. The woman did not know what language they were in but found she was able to read their inscription:

MANNIKRECK'S

_Artificial construct. Corporeal sentience gathers here to purchase and take in sustenance, often in conjunction with rituals such as social bonding or celebrations of rites of passage. Colloquial designation: restaurant. _

_Proprietor of this establishment strong proponent of community through provision of sustenance…_

She stopped in front of the stairwell leading up into the restaurant and tentatively placed a bare foot on the bottom step. Confirming that it would support her weight, she took another careful step upwards and then another, easing into a steady pace just as she reached the top. Although in no danger of losing balance, another instinct made her grasp the railing along the way as if there was something to be found by touching it. The only discovery she made was another faint pang of familiarity.

The inside of the open-air restaurant was empty. Tables, chairs, utensils and menus were all carefully arranged, lying in wait of a new business day. She surveyed the layout of seats and felt compelled to walk to the table with a central view of the ocean. She stood over the table and reflected a moment, then slowly pulled back the seat to give herself clearance. Instinct prompted her to bend her knees and edge in between the table and chair. Easing into the seat, she placed one hand over the other on the tabletop and looked once more to the horizon. She was clearly on a world that was host to a developed species, but what she had seen so far shed no light upon how she came to be there and she was no closer to learning her identity. The warmth and glow of the rising star in the distance took up more of her attention. As intent as she was to resolve her predicament, she found herself welcoming the distraction.

She then felt a tiny cold, wet spot on the edge of her hand. The woman's head snapped down towards the table and found that a small, shuffling grouping of brownish and tan spines had brushed against her. There were small legs and a head beneath the spines; what she felt was the creature's snout. She laid her hands flat on the table next to each other and rested her chin on them to study the animal more closely. Its nose twitched and its beady eyes twinkled at her in response.

_Mammal. Rodent. Order of Erinaceomorpha. Commonly used for eliminating other life forms considered pests by corporeal sentience. Alternatively domesticated and kept to give its owners pleasure. Colloquial designation: hedgehog. _

_This particular specimen possesses an appealing facial configuration… _

"I'm terribly sorry ma'am, but we don't allow pets on the premises…"

A middle aged man appeared in front of the woman's table with hands clasped in front, wearing a pink dress shirt with a white jacket and slacks. His face was square with mid-set eyes under a brow set in a perpetual furrow. He had short, slicked, dark brown straight hair parted on one side and thin lips stretched to an accommodating smile, contradicting the sentiment of his earlier statement. The woman looked at him blankly, sat up straight and verbalized her evaluation of him.

"Corporeal sentience. Bipedal heterotroph. Simian descendant. Homo sapien. Colloquial designation: human. Physical configuration and features consistent with evolution in temperate zone…"

The man's lips pursed and moved in agreement with her keenly objective assessment, along with his head and brow.

"Nasal passages slightly larger than necessary," she finished

He snorted, leaned back slightly and rolled his eyes. He held his hands out to beseech some invisible entity.

"Gah… even here…" he dropped his hands and focused on her "The first time we see each other in so long… and she goes right for the schnozz joke!"

The woman quickly tried to make amends. "I apologize if I caused offense to you in referencing your nostrils - I assume that is what you mean by 'schnozz?' I am not certain why I made such an observation."

He leaned in and gestured "' Cause you're still in there! Somewhere behind that little… 'computer' persona of yours. No computer I know would even care about my nose!"

She gave herself a cursory examination "Computer persona? But my form is similar in configuration to yours. Am I a simulation of your species? A construct?"

The man took a seat at the table across from her and leaned in close. "Were – biig emphasis on 'were…' Do you remember anything at all?"

"No, I do not. Can you tell me what this place is and who or what I am?"

The man smirked as he noticed that the woman had absentmindedly cupped the hedgehog in one of her hands and held out a thumb for it to box while she spoke to him.

"This place… is from one of your memories," he said "Mine's not like this. Beachfront living wasn't really my speed. I'm strictly a city guy. As for you…"

He tapped the tabletop with a fist and pointed "Let's play a game."

"But I have questions…"

She then reconsidered his suggestion "If you can answer my questions or direct me to an alternate information source, then I will repay you by engaging with you in recreational activities."

The man could not help finding the woman's behavior amusing "Heh, heh - listen to you! I knew you were a gear head, but you've really gone deep in the circuits! Trust me, this…'recreational activity' is just what you need to jump start the old noodle. There's normally some slight disorientation in new arrivals and returns, but we pulled you out of a pretty nasty slobber knocker back there that's fragmented you. That's putting it mildly. You'll have to work a little harder to come out of it…"

He reached over and gently coaxed the hedgehog from her hands, placing it a safe distance away on the tabletop.

"Don't wanna take a chance and hurt the little guy…"

The animal turned to face the woman and sat down attentively. The man then folded his hands in front of him and explained "The object of the game is to get you… to remember you. It's very simple: just look all around you and try to think. Look at the beach… this place… your little buddy… me… "

She followed his instructions, ending up concentrating on him. Her eyes began to roll back as she moaned and pitched forward from nausea.

He took her hand and steadied her. "Hey – hey! Not so hard outta the gate!"

His enthusiasm wavered for an instant as this contact with her stirred his own memories. He came back to the present and perked up.

"Start slow, uh… free associate. Just say whatever words or thoughts come into your head. It doesn't matter how ridiculous or nonsensical they are. The more you come up with, the easier it should get."

The woman exhaled and stared into his face, into his eyes. Her expression was still vacant even as the man stroked the top of her hand with a thumb. It took a little time for her to comply with the rules of this activity. Her instinct was that she was an entity of logic and course. To allow random occurrences into her thought processes would invite trouble she may not recover from. A small stream of thoughts began to manifest. She reasoned that as long as the flow remained at this manageable level, she should be in no danger.

"E-e-extra-a-a-net… da-ta… vid-camm," she uttered "Infor-mation… report… you… report…"

"That's right! I was a reporter. I was doing a story on spacers - that's how we first met."

"I… know you?"

"Yeah, I interviewed you… took a… shine to you; everybody else I vidded was freaked about dealing with aliens and complained about a bunch of stuff… but you were different. You suggested we have dinner … we stayed in touch afterwards, saw each other some more… one thing led to another and…"

The woman shuddered suddenly as a sense memory overtook her. She tilted her head back and massaged her neck with one hand, closing her eyes and moaning softly.

"Mmmm… Mmmm-Hmm-Hmm-mmmm…"

She awoke from her remembrance, startled. "Ah...! What… just… happened?"

"Seems like you remembered something you liked..."

"No. No, no, no, this is not right." She motioned to leave her chair "I do not want to play this game anymore."

The man took her by her forearms and convinced her to stay. "It's all right… it's all right. There's nothing to worry about."

"That was not a normal process."

"Why not normal?"

"I cannot quantify that... sensation…"

"That sensation was feeling; physical, human feeling. Did you… see or imagine anything while you had that feeling?"

"No… you described our meeting… and courtship? Now I look at you and…"

The man held both her hands this time "Just let the words come…"

She looked uneasy "It's like… like a t-tingling… warm… very warm… a-greeable…?"

"We have had some very agreeable times."

"Good… times…" The corners of her mouth turned up briefly before her expression blanked again. More words came to mind.

"Times… time… leave… shore… leave…"

"That's when we'd hook up, on shore leave. Scheduling was a bit of a bitch, but we managed to meet up more often than not."

"We courted while we were on shore leave?"

"While you were on shore leave."

"While I was …? What was….N…N…7…"

"N7 was after we… split up. But yeah, that's a military Special Forces program…. you were in the military."

"I was a soldier?"

"Yes. Is it starting to come back now? Try and see if you can recall any names while you're at it. What do you think my name could be … or your name?"

The woman was still fixated on recalling her occupation "Special forces… special soldier… I was special?"

"Very… very special."

"How did I –"

A wave came over the woman and a white hot needle stabbed out from the depths of her mind. She hyperventilated as memories flooded back and leaned over the tabletop.

"Whass…what's… happe-ning?"

The man squeezed her hands tightly "Hang in there, just hang in there!"

"This isn't… riiight…" she strained.

Intercut flashes of sounds, scents, tastes, feelings and visions raced through the woman's consciousness. Childhood and learning more about the world at large. Adolescence and trying to discover her life's calling. Basic training and her early years in the service. The man across from her and the times they spent together.

The Skylian Blitz.

"… scaaaarrrred…" she whined, pulling one of her hands away and making gripping motions in front of her chest, reaching for a non-existent necklace. She developed this nervous habit when she was brought back from death once before, after finding she had lost something precious that hung there. This precious item was eventually returned to her.

The man used his free hand to cup one side of her face "I'm here, honey…."

She rode out the last of the wave and relaxed, taking deep breaths. She slowly looked up at the man.

"I… I can… f-f-feeel…"

"You can feel," he added, stroking her cheek "What do you feel right now?"

The woman sat up, still holding a fist in front of her chest "… I feel… someone… she… she cared for you…" She then dabbed a teardrop from her eye and examined it, unsure of what produced it.

The woman was partway through her recovery.

The man's eyes glimmered with hope. "You did – look, look at what's around your neck! Your neck!"

The man directed her attention to a silver beaded chain that had appeared around it. She opened her fist to reveal a pair of dog tags. On one side of them were N7 logos. The other side had indiglo LED displays. However no identification or information was etched on them. Dangling beside the tags was a gold ring with three tiny diamonds set in the middle surrounded and bound by two intertwining gold strips.

She held up the ring "You were supposed to give this to her."

He regarded her sadly "You've held on to it all this time…"

"It reminds her of what she lost… why… she helps and fights for others…"

"Which is why you stayed on and went through N7… rose up the ranks and became the first human Spectre… you are really an… incredible…"

He stopped speaking as the woman looked knowingly on him, knowing himself why she did. He resolved that he would tell her once her memory had completely returned but it seemed that the truth behind his death was revealed to her already. Her face had more emotion now but was still somewhat removed from herself as she took his hand and stroked it.

"… you died… saving her…"

The man recalled how the woman's father and she would criticize him for his tendency to document everything on his vidcam, removing himself from life, not really being an active participant especially in times where others might need help. This was what she had argued about with him before she left their hotel room on that fateful day on Elysium. In the first hours of the Blitz, he covered the crisis as a reporter was expected to. Over the next couple of days however, he still had his vidcam rolling but began assisting civilian and military personnel. He learned of a Systems Alliance lieutenant who took charge and organized the colony's security forces as well as repaired their main communications tower to broadcast a distress signal. She had unwittingly covered him from up high in the tower with her sniper rifle as he recovered some survivors trapped out in the field. When he eventually learned that this officer was in fact his girlfriend, he helped to restore power to an AA gun which she used to shoot down a pirate skiff attacking the communications tower. The skiff then crashed into the emplacement he occupied. He recorded his last words on the same OSD chip as his other footage and encoded them for her eyes only, in the event she would get her hands on it. Years later, one of the doctors in the morgue with her, plagued by guilt over the trauma he caused her by not disposing of the engagement ring, gave the last of his life savings to the Shadow Broker to arrange a meeting and deliver the recovered OSD chip…

He lowered his head and confessed "You and your dad were right… him and his 'then-you-help' spiel… I – I couldn't just sit by and watch. It felt really good to help those people… and you…"

"She… still loves you…but it brings her shame…"

"Why are you ashamed?"

The woman became more adept at interpreting her rediscovered sensations "She feels wrong… she… loves another…"

Another being appeared and walked over to their table "It is never wrong to love if one loves truly."

The humans and the little hedgehog turned to face a humanoid woman with blue skin and folds upon her head partitioned into tentacle-like bands running down over it. She wore a regal, golden-yellow gown of shimmering silk that suggested, without revealing, a curvaceous frame beneath.

"Corporeal sentience. Bipedal heterotroph. Asari…" said the human woman.

"I think she knows what she is, honey," the man interrupted, patting her hand.

As the morning sun climbed higher in the sky, the asari moved to take a seat beside the man who gently took her hand and guided her over.

"Honored that you could join us, Lady Ben-"

The asari flashed him a subtle but stern warning with her eyes.

"Ben, ben, beeeen to the snack bar? They have pretzels!" The man gestured to his ersatz guests "Wouldja believe it? Here of all places, pretzels!"

The asari chuckled softly; it was an awkward but successful deflection. It was up to the human woman she addressed next to discern their identities.

"Love is a comfort and a guide whether one lives only a single lifetime or over several."

The woman studied this new stranger "Do I know you as well?"

"Yes. We have met but briefly," confirmed the asari. "Our love connects us to the same individual."

The woman pondered more. Feelings and thoughts were coming easier now, but no names to put to any of the faces around her yet. No identity to ascribe to herself.

"Yes… she is like you… but… derived from you…"

"She is my daughter."

The asari and the human male listened as the blond woman went on "I feel her… it's different than with him… he was… physical… her… mind… melds with the other… young, intelligent… kind and fierce… sad… she comforts your daughter… they both long for a true connection… they find it in each other…"

"I sensed this bond between you," the asari added. "Can you remember where you last saw me?"

The woman shivered as she interpreted her newest thoughts "Cold… frozen… slaves… you were a slave…"

"That I was, until you and my daughter freed me. They were the last few moments of my life. I was indoctrinated, forced to assist in breeding soldiers… for Saren…."

A name at last, a name other than the one that distinguished the restaurant the three humanoids occupied.

The woman keyed into it. "Saren…"

She then abruptly jerked forward as a strong image burned into her mind, the face of a turian in shock, screaming"NOOOOO! SHE MUST -"

The male and the asari shifted in concern as the woman blinked rapidly and snapped out of her reverie. Her breathing became harsher as she felt a torrent building within her. Her fingers flexed and twisted on the table.

"S-s-Saren… he was… a slave…"

"Yes, child. We both were. Do you remember what enslaved us?"

A new image seared into the woman's consciousness: a towering black, squid-like creature, glowing orange with a hard black shell. The shell split apart to reveal a humanoid child within, covered in slime and writhing with panic. "DON'T EAT MEEEEE!" it cried out.

She rocked back and forth on her seat, blinking and gasping "They killll… R-Rea-perrrs… they harvest life… cycles… never ending… l-l-l-lost… ch-children … en-tropy… allll-ways wins!"

The man grabbed one of her hands firmly and rubbed it between his own "Stay with us, honey! You're almost there!"

"She's… not me" she huffed "… she can't… be me!"

Another image in her mind; a woman looking exactly like her, wearing some kind of armor and standing in a void, denouncing her duplicate self: "Do you have any idea… any 'concept' of how it feels to find out your whole life... was a lie?"

"She is part of you," the asari reassured as she emulated the human male's example with the woman's free hand. "She is what you became when you chose to enter the corporeal world!"

The woman raged "NOOO! I… am… not…human…"

Yet another image: a tall, gaunt man with silver grey hair taunted "You're a program, an AI once housed inside a network that was built and programmed to serve. That's all you really are and that's all you'll ever be, no matter what skin you choose to wear!"

"That's how you started, but you've become so much more," the human male encouraged. "You lived, grew, learned. You prospered and suffered. You touched and helped so many people! You have a family, friends who love and admire you. You did it all on your own! And a name… you have a name!"

The humanoid child appeared in the woman's mind again, this time cleansed and optimistic: "Thank you… what do we call you?"

"We are here - do not be afraid!" said the asari "Embrace what you were meant to be, child… who you were born to be! Who are you?"

The woman grimaced, twisted and lowered her head as more memories flooded back. The sun over the beach neared its apex.

"I… am… I… am…"

Assignment to the _Normandy. _The beacon on Eden Prime. Promotion to Spectre. Flirtation with Kaidan Alenko. Finding Liara T'Soni on Therum. Learning of the Reapers, their destruction cycles and their indoctrination process. Choosing Liara over Kaidan. Matriarch Benezia's death on Noveria. Choosing to save Ashley Williams and dooming Kaidan on Virmire. Joining with Liara. Chasing Saren Arterius to Illos. Saren's suicide and stopping the Reapers from coming through the Citadel gate.

"I… am… C-C-C…C-C-Ca-dri-na…"

Suffocating and entering the atmosphere of Alchera. Coming back to life and fighting through the Lazarus space station. Cerberus and the Illusive Man. Reuniting with old crew and comrades aboard a new _Normandy._ Collectors and human abductions. Council and authorities in denial. Seeing Liara again and her reluctance to continue their relationship. Flirtations with Garrus, compensating for loneliness and abandonment. Recruiting a new team for a mission to stop the Collectors. Learning of Liara's war with the Shadow Broker over rescuing her love. Re-evaluation of feelings for Garrus, taking him into heart as a brother instead. Discovering the Reapers' plans to convert humanity into one of their own. Destroying the Collector Base in defiance of the Illusive Man. Killing the Shadow Broker, allowing Liara to take his place. The destruction of the Alpha relay at Bahak. Emotional breakdown and being apprehended by authorities led by Ashley. Saren's appearance in a waking vision, telling of a way to defeat the Reapers.

"E-E-E-Ell-en…"

The trial on Earth. The Reapers attacking before the sentence is handed down. Escape aboard the _Normandy 2_, aided by David Anderson and Ashley. Visions of the prothean scientist Sumek and his creation, the Interface. Pursuing clues to its location while fighting Reaper forces and Cerberus soldiers. Working to unite a conflicted galaxy. Losing Thane Krios, Jacob Taylor, Legion, Miranda Lawson and Zaheed Massani. Discovering the Interface and learning of its origins. Recovering Saren and soliciting his help. Learning of parents' efforts to prevent Illusive Man from controlling the Interface. Rescuing father from mining colony. Triggering the Interface and the battle within the Reaper mindscape. Discovering the reasons for the Reapers harvest cycles and brokering peace with them. Illusive Man's eradication of the ancient machines and fighting him over the right of all souls to be free. A trap sprung by Saren to eliminate the Illusive Man…

"…SHEPARD!"

The sun in the sky above reached its zenith. She knew who she was and could remember everything.

Including how she came to this world…

The Illusive Man had grabbed her and pulled her into the vortex Saren had summoned. She could feel herself coming undone. Her attacker had been drawn completely inside, releasing her at a point much too late for escape.

"NOOOOO! SHE MUST LIVE!"

Saren was despondent, only partway into the vortex. She saw the turian grip his chest and withdraw an orange-blue light from it.

His connection to the higher plane.

He reached for her hand, placed the light in her palm and closed her fingers around it. He squeezed her hand tight and gave her a look she never believed he was capable of. He spoke to her tenderly, his eyes showing a blend of warmth, regret and resolve as his palms slid away from her fist.

"…you must live…"

He disappeared into the vortex as she suddenly felt herself being violently pulled from the closing maw and drawn away with disorienting speed, losing consciousness but spared from dissolution…

Cadrina went silent and motionless. Still hunched over the table, she then tilted her head upwards. The man and the asari were still seated across from her, holding her hands more gently with a look of welcome and satisfaction. The hedgehog had waddled up over between her hands and was now looking right at Cadrina. It almost seemed to smile at her.

She slowly cleared hairs away from her eyes while looking down on the animal. Her lips twitched upwards, parting as she snorted. Finally recognizing what this creature was in relation to her, she cupped it carefully in her hands, stood up and began playfully nuzzling it.

"Murrieeee…! Look at you… look at you - how are you…? How are you?" she cooed while she spun around with her beloved pet, holding it close to her face, kissing its snout and then stopping to cradle it against her neck. Cadrina then regarded the asari and extended her hand.

"… Benezia T'Soni…."

Benezia took her hand, rose from her seat and went over to hold Cadrina, careful to allow space for the human's miniscule charge.

"You've done it, Cadrina," congratulated the matriarch "You are whole again!"

Benezia pressed her cheek to Cadrina's, each taking in the warmth and presence of the other. This was Matriarch Benezia as she was before indoctrination. This was the true, kind and beautiful mother that Cadrina's new love once knew.

Cadrina silently beckoned Benezia to hold Murrie. The asari matriarch complied as Cadrina turned her attention to the human male, her late fiancé. She strode up to him and took his hands, pulling him upwards. He was relieved that she had recovered her memory but looked a little apprehensive as Cadrina draped her forearms around his neck and touched her forehead to his.

"…Nathan Weiss…" she breathed, leaning in and closing her lips around his. Her eyes sealed and she pushed in, tilting her head, brushing and massaging every centimeter of his mouth, losing herself for a moment in remembrance of their time together. Nathan did not resist her advance. She then parted her eyelids and stroked his jawline absently as she eased back with an apologetic look. She remembered her new love in her life now.

"…Nathan…"

"Welcome back, Cady Cat…" he grinned, resting his hands on her hips. He waited a moment and then blurted "Hey, aren't you gonna bonk me on the head or pinch my nipples or somethin'? You hate that nickname!"

"I'm… just so glad to see you," said Cadrina "You can call me anything you like!"

Nathan touched her chin gingerly before they parted. Cadrina carried her hedgehog in her palms again as she took in her surroundings. She also peeked at her dog tags. Her name, rank, service number and blood type were all restored.

"I'm on Bysorrn!" she laughed and spun about again, stopping to face the central counter in the restaurant "Palturma Beach… this place was my favorite hangout!"

She turned towards the ocean "Right from this table, I could see my dad's shore guard boat go by. We'd wave to each other… and then I'd grab something to eat and run off with my friends… or go see what that old turian Queras Mannikreck was cooking up or putting out in the kitchen along with his son… ohhhh, I loved it here…"

Her joy diminished "But I'm not really here, am I? I mean, this place isn't real. Just an old memory…"

Cadrina looked pensive as she tickled her pet's chin "I'm dead and gone… and this is heaven…"

She looked to Nathan and Benezia.

"The afterlife's a beach, huh?" she chortled. "Nathan, you said yours was different? In the city?"

Nathan clarified "A penthouse, ultra deluxe. Could never afford it when I was in the world, but I always wanted a place like that one day. Just to look outside over the streets and traffic, you know, feel like a king. It's something different for everybody here. Has to do with karma… life aspirations…"

"My realm is the villa where I raised my Little Wing, on Thessia," said Benezia. "It is where I was happiest and felt most at peace. The actions we carry out in life, the hopes and dreads we harbor determine how we exist on this plane. In transition here, they judge and sentence us. One can remain here to contribute or decide when, how and what to be reborn as while inside the realm of their making. This is usually quite pleasing, but it can be distressing for those who were less than… charitable. They must earn back the freedoms and prerogatives they deprived from others or themselves by returning to the realities again. Only then can they more freely interact on this plane…"

Cadrina understood Benezia's explanation. "We each create our own heaven or hell."

"Most of 'em come around and do better," said Nathan "But, there are some who just… don't get it… like your Illusive Man."

"Sometimes a sentience can become exceptionally corrupted," the matriarch continued, "Beyond all hope for use or reform. In those instances… the only course is reclamation."

"You mean destruction," corrected Cadrina, thinking of her rescue from the vortex within the Interface.

"The sentience - the soul - is dissolved into its base components, losing all trace of its identity. The raw material is then channeled into the realities."

Cadrina scoffed "Heh, dark energy…. no burning in hellfire or eternal torment, is there? You either are or you aren't and you don't want to be 'aren't'… and even if you aren't, it's not like there's anything left of you to care!"

"You do not approve?" inquired Benezia.

"Well, can you agree that it's diabolically harsh and heavy handed?" argued Cadrina "I mean it's almost machine-like! A soul is created, screws up royally, makes life miserable for… everyone…"

She reconsidered "I gave Jack a chance to surrender, but he just wouldn't stop. He wouldn't be satisfied unless everything was under his thumb, nothing and no one making a single move without his approval. I didn't want to control him or kill him… I just wanted him to stop. I already killed so many… I gave the Reapers a chance… they listened and…"

"That wasn't you, Cady," Nathan cut in "We know that. You know that. You got through to them. You showed them things they haven't known for a long, long time. If they lived, they would have done exactly what you asked of them…"

"What about the ones I killed who wouldn't listen, before I was taken over, huh? And don't give me some line about self preservation!"

Cadrina set down Murrie on the table and looked into her empty hands, shuddering.

"… I can destroy souls! Who – who knows how many of them weren't really so far gone? Most of them were… how many of them could have started over?"

A tear leaked down Cadrina's face. "Saren… gave up his chance… he gave up his existence… for me…"

Benezia and Nathan gathered about the repentant woman.

"It was his choice," the matriarch explained "It is what you defended: the freedom to acquire knowledge through experience and to make decisions upon that knowledge"

Benezia stood behind her and held her shoulders.

"… he had been here…"

Cadrina, stunned by this revelation, whipped her head about to face the asari.

"He followed your advice at first… but he was still connected to you. He could not forgive himself for the crimes he committed said and that the only thing that would give him any peace was coming to the aid of someone that was in danger of losing herself. We felt the approaching chaos. We all knew the cost of inaction."

Nathan grazed her hair with his fingers, getting her attention "Cadrina… Saren, the Reapers… even Jack Harper…they all passed within you. Everything they were touched you, so… in a way they exist within you. If you want, they can stay with you as memories… or they could come back through you…"

"Is this what you meant by contributing to this plane?" Cadrina asked of Benezia.

"I find it somewhat difficult to describe," the asari responded "One does not so much contribute as become a part of the process that regenerates the cosmos and creates and distributes sentience across it. Even in the midst of all that activity, your identity is preserved…"

"And free enough to interact with others or reach out to a returning soul now and again…" deduced Cadrina. "Sounds like the geth collective… like you, right this very moment."

Benezia smiled and nodded in confirmation. "As the Interface, you co-opted this process on a very small scale when you transferred into the streams surrounding you, after discovering your newfound existence was being threatened. You were right to be wary and guard your abilities against use by corporeals. You wanted to understand them better and so lived as one. You made every endeavor to learn as much as possible to make the best use of yourself. And you even offered reprieve to those who might not have done the same for you. In your own way… you embodied the very essence of this plane."

"Where exactly am I?"

Benezia walked to Nathan's side "In the reservoir of time and space that goes beyond all corporeal description and understanding. The source beyond the borders of all dimensions, beyond the outermost edges of thought…"

Cadrina gestured outwards "…Beyond..."

"It's hard to wrap around, I know," Nathan remarked "Still have trouble with it myself…"

Cadrina's mind turned. A lifetime of experience with coding and studying information systems offered more insight into the workings of the Beyond. Like parts within a self-maintaining machine, sentients were created, refined, repaired and reused or recycled to create new ones. The ethereal realm she inhabited could be considered the "mind" of the Beyond. The different realities where sentience flocked to express themselves and be impressed upon by the dimensions they occupied was a "body" where data and new knowledge was gathered or synthesized and later brought back to be assimilated and processed. If this analogy was indeed the case, what larger realm could the Beyond find itself in? Or could it really be its own beginning and end? Maybe what Benezia said about retaining individual identity within the structure of the whole applied. The whole was its own entity, dependent upon but acting independently of its parts. The parts only needed to be content with their own existence and the will to shape it as they saw fit.

The matter was hard to wrap around, but it did not discourage Cadrina from wanting a few answers. She held her hedgehog out in view of her ethereal guides.

"Animal life… when I went through the Reapers' memories, they discovered that life in general helps create small…'puddles' of order. So plants, animals, microbes and insects act like maintenance programs in a way, clearing a path and setting up places so higher intelligences can take root and develop? In the physical world, they're food – for us and each other, scavengers, pest control, pets… "

Nathan winked to Benezia as he pointed to his past love "Part of why I was nuts about her! Quick on the bead!"

"Artificial intelligence… they're created by organics but that's just another way intelligence can manifest, isn't it…? Just like I did… Heh, heh… EDI, she sounded more and more alive, more human as time went on... she stumbles a bit, but she keeps trying… and Legion… he never did explain why he used my armor to repair himself… wait… he tracked me for years…. said I was more like the geth than I realized in choosing to make my own future… said my code… was superior… did he know what I was?"

"Legion suspected," explained Benezia. "The geth have developed technologies that give them perceptions beyond organic senses. They stumbled upon your dormant data stores embedded within the streams – the dark energy - and this contact accelerated their collective consciousness to an ability they would have achieved on their own eventually. A distinction of living intelligence: spontaneous generation of random thought while in a reduced state of consciousness…"

"…the geth had a dream!"

"Must've really over-clocked their processors and caused about five minutes worth of 'consensus-izing'," commented Nathan "Which would be like eons to them and us!"

Cadrina had a strange feeling of sad pride and amusement "Enough to send an emissary to find the charred beast that was dragged off to Cerberus to be reborn…"

The three humanoids shared a soft chuckle at her poetic and self-deprecating assessment. Cadrina then recalled a stray comment from a teammate of hers, Kasumi Goto, about life finding a way.

"Any way then can, minds evolve and a physical shell evolves to accommodate them…" Cadrina thought aloud. "Everything meshes and reacts with everything else… perfect, natural clockwork… I don't think I'll really ever understand it all, but that's the whole point, isn't it? You don't really need to… to see how wonderful it all is!"

"It is wonderful…" agreed Nathan.

Cadrina's tone shifted to accusation "And it's in danger of falling apart! The universe I lived in – entropy is driving everything out. Vuldaran, the Reapers, they tried to reverse it but advanced life kept destroying itself and nothing can hold. Fear keeps winning out over reason. Doesn't that bother you or anyone else here?"

"It does concern us, Cadrina," said Benezia "Greatly."

"Well, aren't you gonna do something about it?"

Nathan folded his arms and cocked his head towards Cadrina "… who says we haven't done something?"

Cadrina looked to Benezia for enlightenment only to be met with a knowing stare accented with warmth. Several moments elapsed before Cadrina finally made the startling connection. In her reviews of the Interface's memory records, she learned its creator had powered off the machine before going into stasis. A stray impulse of dark energy had reactivated it, allowing the Interface to reinitialize, assimilate unused subconscious and evolve to eventually achieve its own independent consciousness…

This impulse had come from the same sphere, the Beyond, which had spoken through her at one point when she first reintegrated with the Interface.

Cadrina was its response…

"Entropy is part of the balance of all creation, but it became more prevalent in your universe," noted Benezia "The repeated self-destruction of corporeal sentience reinforced this rule. Even the Reapers had fallen victim to this plague of fear. You demonstrated the possibility to overcome fear through the simple knowledge that this experience is shared amongst all intelligence. Fear and entropy will always be a part of existence… but they no longer have to define it. Now that the Reapers are no more, it falls to the lives you helped save to sustain this knowledge through future generations so that this new rule can take root and slow degradation enough to allow sentience to rise and spread again."

Cadrina could not voice the feeling within, that the Beyond had faith in her to resolve the great question that the Reapers once took upon themselves to answer just by the virtue of her very existence. As she told herself within the Interface she was controlled, but she had also taken control of the life that was always her own.

Cadrina moved between Nathan and Benezia and past them, possessed with new thoughts. She turned to look out at the ocean.

"Just thinking about what I left back there… the promises I made… the promise I made to Liara. It's a comfort to know that I can find them all up here… I think they'll forgive me…"

Cadrina's guides could feel her acceptance tinged with a hint of regret.

"I'll contribute… I was a pretty darn good coder… probably end up of the top debuggers here. Nah – just being full of myself…"

Nathan shrugged "… or… you could just go back…"

Cadrina's head slowly pitched and turned to him with her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Why else do you think we're here?" Nathan shrugged again "To remind you who you are, what you've done and the promises you made."

"To Liara and yourself," Benezia completed.

Cadrina's voice trembled "I… I…. I can really g-go back?"

"If it is what you truly desire," said Benezia.

"You fought for choice," Nathan chuckled slightly "Would be… kinda dickish to deny you the same right you fought to keep for everyone else!"

Cadrina's face tightened to a smile as she ran over to hug each of them tightly, carefully holding her pet in a way so it would not get squashed.

"You'll have your chance for the life you wanted… but it will not be a normal or easy one. There is much to rebuild," the matriarch advised.

"I know…" Cadrina agreed.

"She's a beautiful asari, Liara," added Nathan "But fair warning; she may be a li-ttle pissed at you when you get back! Hell hath no fury…"

"I know-w-w" laughed Cadrina in acknowledgment and then sighed. She stepped back three paces.

"Thank you… thank you both… for everything," she said and closed her eyes, standing in wait for her desire to be granted.

"Cadrina," teased Benezia gently "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The anxious human woman gasped, blinked and quickly handed over Murrie "Oh – sorry… uh, you'll take care of him, right?"

Benezia chortled softly as she took the animal in her hands again "Aren't you forgetting something else? One more promise you made?"

"I… I don't understand…"

"A wish you made back on that rainy evening of your tenth birthday…"

Cadrina continued to shake her head. As Benezia went on to explain, her form began to change. Her frame shrunk downward as her skin lightened to a pink tone. Her voice turned gravelly.

"Someone who wanted so much to share in that special day with you, whose life was taken unjustly…"

Short, dark brown curly hair filled in. Her face elongated a bit, jowls sagging slightly.

"You wanted so much to see her one last time, just to know that she was all right…"

Cadrina fell to her knees before what Benezia had become: a small, old woman clad in dark blue business attire. In the physical world, she was known as the human diplomat Olivia Consley, a woman who worked and died to encourage understanding and peace between humans and turians. But she shared a more personal connection to the overjoyed, tearful blond woman in front of her

"Well…" Olivia's lips curled upwards "Here am I, kiddo! Doing just fine!"

Olivia passed Murrie over to Nathan, who awkwardly received it as Cadrina crushed into her.

Cadrina rested her chin on Olivia's shoulder, passing her hand over her hair and kissing her cheek repeatedly "Grand-ma-a-a-a…ohhh…Grand-ma…"

"There, there Cady," consoled Olivia as she patted her granddaughter's back "I'm allll right… don't you cry now… soooo good to see you again, my little Cady Cat…"

Nathan lowered and shook his head. In his playful teasing of Cadrina, he had hit upon the secret pet name that her grandmother had for her. The name still affected Cadrina years afterward, tying to Olivia's untimely death and Cadrina's failed attempts in childhood to contact her grandmother's spirit. Now this name was simply another name, one of many Cadrina Ellen Shepard had earned.

Cadrina backed away slightly to look over Olivia, holding her in her arms, studying her in amazement.

"You cheated," Olivia chided.

"I cheated?" said Cadrina incredulously.

"'Cut yourself off from your data stores,' eh? Not completely, I say. What you told your father that night about what you thought heaven was? Pretty close guess there!"

Cadrina looked sheepish for a moment and then returned to her earlier amazed look.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Something on me besides you?"

Cadrina spoke slowly "You… and Benezia…?"

"Tch - one and the same!" Olivia winked.

"How is this possible? Why?"

Olivia exhaled and recounted "I blamed myself for my actions under Sovereign, although I was its prisoner. It pained me greatly to be forced to act against everything I believed in and worked for. And to leave Liara as I did… I was so grateful you were there for her and that she had accepted you into her heart. I could see in you, in those last moments, your potent spirit; something greater than the human that stood before me. I sensed that if it was within your power to heal me, you would have. When I arrived here, I wanted more than anything to make amends and take on a new life to resume my old ways. And… if it was even the slightest bit permissible… be a part of your life… even for just a little while…"

Cadrina hung on Olivia's words, smiling brightly and laughing as her grandmother joked "They really ran with that 'little' theme, didn't they? I could deal with a human lifespan and I wanted to be close to you, but did they have to take that so dang literally and make me so damned small? Don't get me wrong, it was fun sharing some of my clothes with you…"

Cadrina settled down and let Olivia finish.

"But it was one of the great privileges of my existence to help bring you into the world… to spend time with you… to see you grow in the brief time I had. And here you are – the pride of my daughters!"

"Daughters…" Cadrina identified the other child Olivia alluded to "Mom!"

"They've got a head on their shoulders but their passions can get the better of them. They'll do – have done – anything to protect you and the ones they love from harm. Like peas in a pod, Liara and Hannah. I'm glad to see they get along. Course it helps Liara to have those freckles! Hannah sure missed hers when they faded away… both of them love the stuffing out of you, kiddo… but you already know that!"

Cadrina's lip tightened as she moved her head in agreement, remembering her mother's attempt on her life and how it must have agonized her as well as Liara's efforts to recover her body for Cerberus to rebuild; how she never gave up on her.

Olivia brushed away the last of her granddaughter's stray tears and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Cadrina. Look after my daughters; I'm so very proud of them. And go easy on them – they've both been through so much."

Cadrina grazed Olivia's face with her fingertips "I will… I love you, Grandma."

The very contented former Spectre rose and readied herself once more to depart only to receive one more interruption.

"Wait…! Please?"

One more being joined them inside the simulacrum of Mannikreck's restaurant.

The figure's skin was a deeper shade of blue than that of Benezia and wore a red robe with a harness-like vest. Its four eyes fixated their bifurcated irises on the three humans.

"C'mon! The lady's got places to go!" joked Nathan. Olivia playfully nudged his side.

The stranger held up a hand and pleaded "Please, I beg of you... they said she had been recovered… I had to see…"

Cadrina, glancing over her shoulder, turned and acknowledged the red robed being.

She moved up to him and paused a foot away, bobbing her head "… Sumek…"

The prothean scientist stepped closer to admire her "It was you… you spoke to our minds on that day." He grew giddy "This is what you became… fantastic!"

Creator and creation regarded each other.

"You kept your promise," Sumek stated with gratitude.

Cadrina felt she had failed "It didn't go exactly the way I wanted - I didn't…"

"It was Jack Harper that had slain the Reapers. You stopped them… just as you said you would…"

She was relieved at his proud grin "So… you're my real father."

"I am nothing of the kind!" dismissed Sumek "I merely arranged pieces, set an empty stage… I only marveled at my own ingenuity, just a tinkering scientist who wanted to emblazon his name amongst the great achievements of his era. The Maker had far better intentions for you than I… your true parents await you out there."

Cadrina raised her arms wide "All the same… thank you for setting up those pieces!"

Sumek attempted to back away "Er ahh, humans are really quite fond of touching, aren't they? I don't… really, there's no need…"

The prothean was not swift enough to avoid Cadrina's warm embrace. Sumek sighed and allowed his creation to express its sentiment.

Nathan commented "She's a hugger – what can I say?"

Sumek methodically positioned his arms around Cadrina in imitation of her gesture "You are welcome. My thanks… for all you have done!"

Sumek moved his hands to her shoulders as she gave him space again. He recalled one of the many poems he composed as a corporeal, one describing his encounter with the Interface as he gave his summation of Cadrina's journey.

"Birth and rebirth, organic and synthetic, corporeal and ethereal…. you truly are the interface between life and death, Cadrina! You would be wise to set down your invaluable perspectives for posterity!"

She thought of Ashley "I know a corporeal, poetic soul that can help out…"

Sumek smiled as Cadrina moved back, Nathan and Benezia standing on either side of him.

"Well… goodbye… I'll see you around…" said Cadrina quietly as her surroundings brightened to a blinding white, obscuring the sentients that rescued and welcomed her to the Beyond.

She could feel herself moving backwards, downwards. Suddenly she felt herself passing through an energy barrier of infinitesimal thickness but profound power and her mind became the clearest it had ever been and would ever be.

In that perfect transitory moment of clarity, she knew everything.

She was everything.

The Beyond and she were not so much different after all.

Cadrina knew that this knowledge as well as her abilities as the Interface could not be brought back with her. She did not lament. If she could retain only the sense of the privilege of having experienced perfection, it was enough for her. What she wanted to retain more were the memories of seeing her Murrie, Nathan and her grandmother Olivia again.

Knowing she was the reincarnation of Matriarch Benezia.

Meeting Sumek, the creator of the Interface.

Saren, the Reapers and Jack Harper: tragic lessons of the trials and extremes of corporeal existence that needed to be taught and learned from. She had brought about their demise through her former powers. Their memory would keep her grounded.

The light in front of her began to break down into innumerable points swirling and tracking around each other as she moved further away from the sphere of the Beyond. Or rather, the sphere became ever smaller, becoming the only source of light in the absolute darkness. Cadrina reached up to the sphere, cradling it in her palms as it shrank away and blinked out…

…

"…you promised me… promised me… promised…"

On the bridge of the _Normandy 2, _Liara's eyes were squeezed tight as she mourned and mouthed silently, her head on Cadrina's chest with the crew present. She could feel the impressions from Mordin and Dr. Chakwas' hands fade as they removed their hands from her back. A moment later, the pressure returned but felt different. It ended on two points of her back and encircled her chest. Liara could barely hear the gasps of shock and relief that passed over her. One faint sound had wrenched the fiber of her being.

"… Liaarrrra…."

The asari was racked with a new fit of sobbing. She tensed, slid her arms about and pounded angrily on Cadrina's shoulders and sides, muffled grunting noises echoing through Cadrina's chest. This human would be the end of her, having left her behind twice to suffer and then return to break her heart again. Cadrina had a recollection of a warning that her love would react in this manner and moved a hand to cradle Liara's head.

"Shh… I'm sorry…I'm sorry ….shhhh-shh-shh-shhhh…."

Liara eventually relaxed and ceased to hit Cadrina, giving in. She cried, unsure whether to be overjoyed or fearful. She just wanted to purge tears until she could not shed any more. Cadrina swayed ever so slightly with the weeping asari in her arms.

She whispered to her love, choked with emotion.

"…I'm sorry I keep doing this to you… It hurts seeing you like this… It's over, Liara - I am done… I can't do this anymore… I'm tired of fighting… I just wanna live now… I don't care if we spend the rest of our lives digging out a hole - I just wanna be with the people I love…"

Ashley let her own tears flow as she clasped her hands before her mouth, offering a mute prayer of thanks to her god for this miracle. Joker merely tucked his head down, pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed. James and the other crew shivered and shifted in place, but there was no real joy. Only the feeling of quiet relief and contemplation shared with every survivor of the Great War throughout the galaxy. The tone of Cadrina's whispers to Liara best embodied this.

"… It's over, Li… it's over… it's over…"

The only words and sentiment of celebration could be gleaned from a transmission across the geth collective of which EDI was also included:

_FIELD ANALYSIS CONFIRMS CONSENUS: SHEPARD-INTERFACE LIVES AND HAS PREVAILED!_

"_Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God…_"  
>Matthew 5:8<p>

TO BE CONCLUDED

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- I based the afterlife in the Beyond on concepts from the film _What Dreams May Come, _based on the novel by Richard Matheson, and a couple of episodes from _Supernatural_

- Actor Nathan Fillion (_Castle, Firefly_) was the basis for Nathan Weiss

- Actress Linda Hunt (_NCIS: Los Angeles_) was the basis for Olivia Consley

- Actor Jeffrey Combs (_Reanimator_) was the basis for the prothean Sumek

- Mitch Alborn talks about five people you would meet in Heaven. In Cadrina's case, it's four people and a little hedgehog!

- I figured the geth might have been thrown for a loop discovering their ability to dream. A discovery that Nazara (Sovereign) capitalized on, the Heretics thinking not only that the Reaper was the pinnacle of evolution but the one who gave them the dream.

- Suggested soundtracks:

_* Divine Intervention_ by Two Steps from Hell for when Cadrina returns to the corporeal world

Coming up: Epilogue – Promises Kept


	5. Epilogue (Promises Kept)

Epilogue

Three days later, Cadrina returned to the unsealed Citadel station at the request of the Galactic Council…

A malaise hung over the citizenry as they started the transition to repair and recovery. Remaining assets were under review. The dead were being gathered, counted, buried and mourned. Survivors sought out people and places they were separated from to later collapse upon learning they had lost everything or find solace in that some of what was left behind had endured with them. While salvaging the gigantic Reaper carcasses strewn across civilized space for their tech seemed a good idea on the surface, an unspoken subconscious revulsion led to their orderly dismantling and disposal instead.

The warriors within the armada Cadrina had assembled were torn between returning to their homeworlds and staying behind a little longer to assist Earth. She reminded them of the old human expression about charity and home but was not averse to any help anyone was willing to offer, encouraging humanity to do likewise on whatever worlds it found itself. Half-hearted attempts to lift spirits were made by some; it had to be acknowledged that to come through such an unprecedented catastrophe was nothing less than miraculous. But no matter how each person dealt with the aftermath, it was simply going through motions.

Every cognizant mind had strange, dream-like impressions that united them as well:

Images of Shepard, the Reapers and the Illusive Man - Jack Harper - in debate and battle over their souls.

The sense that the causes of the war were the terrors of the unknowable and intolerable and that no one was completely immune to them.

That fear could be tempered with reason and forged into caution, a shield that would be needed if there was to be exploration beyond the galaxy.

That the greatest power anyone wielded was existence and the freedom to react to and shape the universe around them.

Many dismissed the phenomenon as post-traumatic stress. Far more reflected, re-evaluated their lives and found either inspiration to change or vindication of their chosen paths. Cadrina had disseminated these truths to all and all could freely choose to consider them or not…

The Council chamber was lined with members of different species of varying occupations and social strata. Individuals and groups of friends and loved ones stood by and large wherever they were able or permitted to. The pall over the populace made it very easy for C-Sec to manage the crowd. Everyone was uncharacteristically civil and obedient. As if the cares they might have had months ago in a similar situation were ridiculous to apply now. The ranking team and crew of the _Normandy 2_ took a spot on one of the balconies overlooking the Council dais. Crew members were in formal military attire as were Captains Hannah and Dylan Shepard, standing beside them along with Liara in her green and white dress. Dylan was relegated to a special wheelchair that reoriented to allow him a better view, his left forearm bound up and encased in a suspension cast. Liara positioned herself between the husband and wife; their last words to each other were anger and accusation over how they each resolved to free their daughter of the Illusive Man's control.

The murmurs of the crowd ceased as the honored guest entered and made her way up the main pathway along with her entourage. Cadrina Shepard, dressed in civilian clothing, solemnly led Urdnot Wrex, Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy, Garrus Vakarian and Ashley Williams up towards the dais. Everyone else in the group was dressed in a clean variant of their individual armor. Many in the audience bowed their heads or whispered words of thanks as they passed. Cadrina spotted her group up on the balcony but said nothing nor gave no sign of recognition other than a delayed stare.

On the suspended platform before the dais, Cadrina stood with Wrex at her right, Tali at her left. They were gaps between so that Garrus and Ashley could be seen behind them, positioned at Cadrina's right and left flank respectively. The councilors, the asari Tevos, the salarian Valern the turian Sparatus and the human Dominic Osoba received the group as they nodded respectfully, following Cadrina's lead. Tevos looked over her peers and then slowly lowered upon her knees, immediately followed by the rest of the Council. Within seconds, the entire crowd within the chamber knelt down as well. Out of recognition of what this gesture implied, Cadrina's entourage also kneeled.

Cadrina did not approve at all.

She turned about and motioned for the council, her friends and the crowd to stand. "No… no! What are you doing…? No… please…! Don't do this…Get up… GET… UP…! It's wrong!"

Cadrina faced the council again "…This is wrong…! You don't need to do this… so many of you have… w-why are you –?"

A hologramatic screen above and behind the humbled Council flickered to life and played a vid recording of Cadrina standing at attention on a platform in full military dress blues before other Systems Alliance officers. It was footage from the conclusion of her trial. The voice of the commission head could be heard.

(Cadrina Ellen Shepard, you have been found guilty by this commission of all charges levied against you. At this time, the guilty party has the right to make a final statement before sentence is passed. Do you wish to do so?)

The recording of Cadrina could be seen bobbing her head slightly before stepping to the edge of her platform, resting her hands on its railing.

(Members of the commission… officers of the high command… ladies and gentlemen,) it began, drawing in a breath.

(…When I first raised my right hand and took the Oath of Service, I was just like many other new recruits: unsure of what the future held. I could go on about the debates I had with my mother and father about whether or not I should serve. I had my own plans for the future… and my youthful idealism couldn't see how promoting or maintaining peace could be accomplished with taking up arms. It wasn't until Elysium… that I truly appreciated what motivates my parents to continue in their service. It's more than upholding law and order and defending the interests of the Alliance. It's about saving lives… anybody's lives, not just humans. My mother and father… in their ways have always made the protection of life the highest priority. Where others would point out the color of blood spilled on the battlefield… they only see bloodshed that needs to be stopped. Every life is equal… important… and has a right to a future. This is what they have taught me… and this is what I have always held in my heart in the performance of my duty…)

(…There is a great menace hiding in the shadows of dark space… ancient… powerful…unforgiving. They see life as a cancer that must be removed. They have laid waste to the galaxy for countless millennia in an endless cycle of death… and now they are ready to strike again. The Reapers… are neither rumor nor legend… they exist. I've seen what they can do… what they've done to all civilizations before ours. I confess to this commission and everyone here that my overzealousness to protect us from the Reapers… led me to commit the atrocity which I'm answering for today. My actions… were in error… but the beliefs that fueled them were not. I am using my right of final statement… to ask all of you, when the time comes, please… stand together and fight for your future! For your children's future! Fight for those you love, for those you don't know and will never know!)

The recording depicted Cadrina turning to face the courtroom audience. (There are non-humans here today as well. I ask the same of you. Don't think about what makes you different from humans or the other races - think of what makes you the same…! You all want and fight over the same things…! And that's exactly what they want! They WANT us to bicker and squabble so that when we finally realize the truth, it'll be far too late…! THOUSANDS… of times before… it was too late…)

The holoscreen image zoomed in on Cadrina as she faced the commission again.

(… I have done… every-thing I can… and now it's up to the rest of you….)

She slowly got down on her knees and clasped her hands over her lap. She crackled with emotion but shed no tears as she continued to plead her case.

(I am begging you… please… listen to me…! Please… do as I ask… and… I-I'll accept whatever your punishment is… with a glad heart…! All I w-want… is for you to come together… f-fight them… defend your future… don't give in to fear…)

Cadrina bowed her head as her voice drifted off (Please… be-lieve me…please listen… please…)

The commission head moved to retake the mood of the courtroom (We so note your… testimony, Shepard…)

The vid recording was then abruptly cut off by the tech manning the holoscreen controls, wanting to spare the audience what happened next. As Cadrina's commutation of her death sentence and sentence to a maximum security facility for life was read aloud, the courtroom was suddenly overwhelmed with explosions, smoke and flame.

The start of the Reapers' final Harvest…

Councilor Sparatus explained "You begged for mercy… for all of us, not for yourself…! We ignored your pleas… and that mis-take was nearly the death of us all!"

"To say we have made many demands of you fails to show how much we have come to depend upon you in our darkest hours," Councilor Tevos continued "Can we call upon you once more… to ask your forgiveness?"

"…We were both doing what we thought was best for the galaxy…" said Cadrina. "No one would have believed what was coming unless they saw for themselves. I thought I could hold out against the insanity…"

She lowered her eyes "…but I nearly lost myself to it as well…"

Councilor Valern, head lowered with a penitent expression, said "We have all been made to act against our better nature, Shepard…"

Cadrina considered his words as she looked up at the balcony and her crew, focusing especially on her parents and Liara. They all had the same look as the salarian. Each thought about how the war influenced their actions towards her and each other.

"We have been left a great deal to consider about ourselves and our place in the cosmos as we begin reconstruction," Valern finished. "I can promise you this: we are far from infallible… but we will do our best… to make the most of the future you have secured for us!"

The Council stood upright again along with the crowd and Cadrina's friends as Councilor Osoba proclaimed "To this end, we now recognize three of your companions. Their courage and sacrifice, along with yours, have demonstrated outstanding leadership ability and delivered us from apocalypse. We ask two of them… if they will join us… as members of the Galactic Council… Urdnot Wrex of Tuchanka…"

The thousand year old battlemaster turned to Cadrina, who signified her approval.

"I didn't think you'd accept, Wrex."

"If they had asked me three years ago, I'd have told them to shove it up their black holes!" noted the krogan as Cadrina smirked. "It's only the second time my people had to save the galaxy! I figure my face on the Council should keep everyone on their best behavior this time around, heh heh….! I must be crazy to say this… but this war also made me feel my age. I guess conquest really is a game for the young… but intimidating uptight Councilors sure beats rotting in some retirement camp!"

Cadrina remembered the young krogan who appointed her his battlemaster. "You left Grunt in charge of the clan?"

"Chief of security," Wrex gave a toothy smile "I said I was crazy, Shepard… not stupid!"

"Never thought you were…"

Cadrina took one of Wrex's hands in both of hers as he gripped her shoulder and pulled her close.

"As for you… you sure about stepping down? You've still got good fighting years on you…"

"I'm sure… thank you, Wrex…rule wisely…"

Wrex gave her a friendly shake "Hunt… live well, Shepard. You'll always be welcome on Tuchanka, greeted by the roars of thousands of little ones you helped make possible – hah, hah…! Be sure to drop by once in a while… it can get pretty boring always getting my way with the Council!"

The former Spectre laughed as she released Wrex to the custody of two officers who led him off the platform and to the antechambers to be fitted and registered. The human Councilor then announced the next and last appointment to the Council membership.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy… of Rannoch… I understand you wish to decline. Are you certain?"

Tali nervously bowed, looked to her former commander and then back at the Council.

"I… I ask that the Council reserve my place as I call for selection of another of my people worthy and willing to assume these responsibilities… like Shepard… I also long for a quieter existence."

Osoba nodded and made entries on his console.

Cadrina apologized to the quarian engineer she came to regard as a sister. "Oh, Tali… I thought nominating you to the Council would be a reward. 'Local girl makes good.' 'Youngest member of the Council in history...' I forgot you already got what you really wanted… what your people needed for so long…"

Tali took Cadrina's hands and choked out "A home… peace… acceptance…. I-I'm afraid, Cadrina! I'm afraid I'll wake up…!"

Cadrina drew her in "…it's not a dream anymore, Tali…"

Tali gathered Cadrina in her arms and squeezed tightly. Cadrina held Tali's neck gently as she rested her head against the hood of her friend's environment suit.

"I am… so p-proud… to have you in my family…" Tali stepped back "The elcor, volus… every species did their part as well – they all should have a place on the Council!"

Cadrina smiled "And they will… we'll keep pushing for them."

Tali gingerly palmed her friend's cheek "I wish you the best for your new life. All my love, Cadrina… Keelah Se'Lai…"

"…Keelah Se'lai…"

Tevos picked up from Osoba and called on the turian behind Cadrina whom the young quarian had moved beside.

"Garrus Vakarian… please step forward."

Garrus complied with the councilor's order and stood at ease, gently sliding out from under Tali's arm. Cadrina and Ashley stood by on either side.

"We have decided… that the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance group will operate under more direct supervision. The privileges granted a Spectre… the temptation to abuse them can no longer be allowed. Because one can do a thing does not always mean that one must. There are always alternatives to consider. We require an individual to set this example which they all must follow from this day onward. It was our hope that Shepard would accept the position of Chief Spectre… but she has insisted that you, Mister Vakarian… are more than ideally suited!"

Garrus did his best to remain composed. He had aspired for years to join the ranks of the Spectres to the disapproval of his father. Being asked to oversee them was more than he expected to achieve.

"You know my father never liked Spectres…" Garrus said askance to Cadrina.

"And now you're in charge. You'll set the standards, make sure everyone follows the rules. You can make them into something your father may actually come to respect!"

Garrus was wary of discussing this promotion with his father "This is going to be one awkward dinner conversation…"

"That's half the fun right there! Plus, you get to order this one around…" Cadrina cocked her head and thumb at Ashley, who feigned disgust.

"Garrus… sir? Shouldn't it be against regulations for a Spectre to be a smart ass?" she fired back.

"Retired Spectre," modified Cadrina.

"Honorary," revised Garrus while he crossed his arms "With an option for renewal… only if you lack the panache to pull it off. Come to think of it, I could use a good second in command. A moral compass… someone I can count on to keep me on the straight and narrow… let me know if I'm being too big of a dick!"

He, Ashley and Cadrina chuckled and then he asked "Would you be interested in the position, Ms. Williams?"

"I… I would be honored, sir." was her gracious answer.

Cadrina exhaled and moved to put her arms around her turian brother. He immediately held up his hands.

"Cadrina, no… not in front of everybody… it's not dignified…"

Her mouth skewed as she backed away. Garrus breathed out, stood at attention and gave his mentor and sister a proud salute. Ashley smiled brightly, copying him along with Tali. Cadrina returned their salute with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Ashley took it upon herself to warn her new superior "She is sooo gonna glomp you later on!"

Garrus huffed as he stepped down from the platform with Tali and waited while Ashley said her peace. She was not as unwilling to be affectionate in public as he, rocking gently in Cadrina's arms.

"…I'm gonna vidmail you so much, you'll be sicka me!" Ashley whispered into her sister-in-arm's ear.

Cadrina had a rejoinder ready as she patted Ashley's head "I'll deal… I'll keep a bucket by the terminal…"

Ashley then gave Cadrina a little space "You're not exactly retiring, are you…? Running off to help your with dad's search and rescue team?"

"He literally needs a helping hand!" said Cadrina, noting the injury he was recuperating from.

Ashley snorted. "And repairing and setting up infocom networks - God, you are determined to geek up your hero image, aren't ya?"

"It's what I wanted to do before I enlisted…" Liara entered Cadrina's thoughts "… and now I've got the perfect partner."

Ashley slowly backpedaled from the platform to accompany Garrus and Tali.

"Let's hook up at _Duscaat's_ sometime. And bring perfect Miss Liara along with you – we can show her how to shoot some pool! Remember… you've got payback comin'!"

"Wouldn't miss it…"

Cadrina watched her friends walk off to one of the antechambers before facing the Council once again. Unsure of what else she could say or do, she bowed graciously and turned to leave.

"Shepard, wait!" Tevos called out. "We need to know… what if… what if in the future some new danger arises? How do we reach you?"

Cadrina paused a minute to think.

"For every challenge… someone always seems to come along to meet it. I'm sure someone will be there for the next. Whether that person comes forward or not… you can count on me to do what I've always done…"

She stopped for a beat and finished with "… help out the best I can…"

All present appeared to be satisfied with her answer. A warm smile came over Cadrina as she started to pad down the walkway of the Council chamber. Years of difficult work lay ahead in restoring intergalactic life to normal, but knowing her friends and loved ones were still with her would make them bearable.

As Cadrina neared the second stairwell from the main elevator, she heard a gruff, deep voice urging people to clear a path for him. She then felt the steps beneath her rumble increasingly as someone quite large and swift ran up behind and spun her about, gripping her right hand tightly.

"Grunt – what the hell are you doing? Lemme go…!"

The krogan youth grumbled as he led her back up to the dais "…damn moping… somber people… modesty… we win the war of the ages and everyone's treating it like a damned funeral…!"

Cadrina tried to pry herself free, but Urdnot Grunt held fast as he stomped up to the raised platform and halted. He glowered all about at the crowd. He then raised Cadrina's right arm high and rhythmically punched up into the air with his free arm.

"SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…!"

The krogan's cheering drowned out Cadrina's interwoven protests and slapping on his sides.

"Grunt, stop it… Grunt… let me go… STOP IT…! STOP -"

Thoughts about how to punish his actions were banished when she heard people shouting up on one of the balconies.

"… Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…!"

One group had joined in with Grunt: her teammates and crew.

Joker, Chakwas, James, Samara, Kasumi Goto, Liara. Cadrina's mother and father. They all pumped one or both fists into the air, punctuating each syllable.

"… Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…!"

Cadrina's heart accelerated as the chanting continued, spreading to the other balconies and then to the people below…

"… Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…!"

The Council soon followed, with its three senior members a bit awkward in their movements…

"… Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…!"

Next were Garrus, Tali, Ashley and Wrex who all emerged from an antechamber, attracted by the noise…

"… Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…! Shep-ard…!"

The multitude outside the Presidium tower, watching the proceedings on several large, strategically placed holoscreens, took up Grunt's chant...

"SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…!"

On locations around Earth, Tuchanka, Sur'kesh and other worlds across Council space with working com feeds to the Citadel and people gathered around to listen or watch were swept into the spontaneous celebration…

"SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…! SHEP-ARD…!"

The entire Milky Way raised its voice for Cadrina Shepard.

The object of all its adoration was overwhelmed, swooning in a mixture of extreme elation and humility. She slumped down, hiding her face and finding it hard to stand on wobbly knees. Grunt squatted deeply and scooped her up, seating her on his shoulder. He pivoted slowly around as the cheering continued, encouraging them to keep on.

"YEEEAAAAAAHH…! YAAAA-HA-HA-HAAAA…! MYYYYY… BATTLEMASTERRRRRR…!"

Cadrina could not bear to look up. Only a son could embarrass his mother in this way. Her hand caressed the top of Grunt's head as she listened to the throngs shouting her name. She could sense the underlying currents of this new energy Grunt had awakened. The cheering continued for several more minutes and Cadrina's name took on meaning beyond the appreciation of a hero.

It was an affirmation of life.

It was a rallying cry for those who survived to start anew.

It was a promise that the knowledge they inherited from her would never be forgotten.

Reporter Emily Wong's news blog documented this unique moment in history:

_It is said that space cannot carry sound; the atoms in it are too far and few in between. But several weeks ago, the galaxy was heard crying out as it was attacked by malevolent forces beyond imagination. _

_Its voice in danger of being silenced forever._

_Today the galaxy cries out again, this time in celebration, united in a way it has never been before. It has suffered losses that will be felt for years to come but it will persevere thanks to the efforts of one who believes that we all have a right to exist._

_To those who claim there are no good souls left..._

_To those who feel that we are no longer capable of great, shining courage and valor…_

_To all those who say that the age of heroes is long dead… I give you Cadrina Ellen Shepard! _

…

Hannah and Dylan were secreted to a private lounge elsewhere on the Presidium, away from the jubilant crowds. They sat quietly and waited for their daughter, the tension between them mellowed but neither felt like speaking to the other quite yet. Cadrina probably now had to contend with autograph and holopic seekers, people just wanting a moment with a living legend. Grunt's enthusiasm was interpreted as permission to openly rejoice without penalty.

Suddenly the door to the lounge slid open. Dylan keyed in a sequence on his armrest, reconfiguring his wheelchair to standing position. His wife got out of her seat as Cadrina entered the room along with Liara and Grunt. Grunt looked annoyed and was seen talking to C-sec personnel at the door. Cadrina intervened, warning that it was not wise to cross a krogan. The officers gently relented, saying they were only following procedure. Grunt knew all along they would give his battlemaster the few hours of privacy she wanted, getting some small enjoyment out of lightly ruffling some feathers. Though not related to Cadrina in any conceivable way, he nonetheless seemed to have inherited a bit of her sense of humor.

Liara whispered something to her love and then nudged her to turn and face her parents. Grunt stood by the door with the asari as Cadrina anxiously shuffled into the room towards her mother. This was the first time since the final battle that they had been together.

"C-Cadrina," stammered Hannah, averting her gaze.

Daughter gently moved mother's head forward again "Mom… Mom… it's all right…"

"It is –not- all right…! I nearly… I didn't have faith, Cadrina… I wish I had never gone there… I should have listened to you!"

"If you did… I never would have known what was done to me. We would have lost… I know you were trying to protect me…"

"… will you stop being such a goddamned pigheaded saint about it and let me feel guilty, please?" Hannah interrupted in a nervous laugh through her tears. "It's hard enough standing here like a weeping willow!"

Cadrina persisted "Pigheaded… well, I learned from the best. That's why I love you. You never let anyone or anything hold you back or tell you different. You'd march right into Heaven and punch out God if you thought it'd solve anything! Under that tough hide, you always mean well… and usually you're right!"

"That was one time I didn't wanna be…"

Cadrina held her close "… I forgive you, Mom…forgive yourself… please?"

Hannah pressed her lips against her daughter's cheek and cradled her. "… they… they said that you… that you died again…"

"I did…" Cadrina then shared "… I saw her…"

Hannah's face went pale. Her mother's murder had torn her up inside, adding to the well of sorrow and anger that grew within her since her youth. She used this pent up fury against those who victimized others, having been a victim of indignity and abuse herself. Even the love of a devoted husband and daughter never fully extinguished it.

"Yeah! I was really there… I talked to Grandma!"

Hannah grimaced and quivered, trying to keep from collapsing into a sobbing mess. Cadrina stroked her mother's short tufts of hair to let her know it was all right to do so.

"She's fine, Mom… she's doing just fine!"

Hannah buried her face in her daughter's shoulder.

"…she says she's really proud of you…. she wants me to look after you…"

"… I can take care of myself, Cady…" was the mother's muffled rebuke.

Cadrina began to succumb to tears herself, not wanting to see her mother in distress.

"I know…but I want to take care of you…I love you, Mom…"

Hannah kissed Cadrina again and squeezed her tightly, afraid to let her go. "My baby… my Cady Ellen…"

After a few minutes, Hannah calmed down enough to let Cadrina move though she kept an arm around her as she looked to her father. All Dylan could do was shiver, cry and move his lips without a sound. There was nothing he could say to express the profound feelings he had for his daughter who gave him the strength to change his life for the better, the child that would be his redemption. Cadrina also had trouble finding words to convey how she felt about the lengths he had gone to help save her in that final, terrible battle within the Interface. She loved her mother and father in equal measure but was always able to connect more readily with father on an emotional level. Their eyes conveyed much of what could not be said.

Cadrina kept it simple. "…D-Dad…"

Arm in arm with Hannah, she crooked her other arm around Dylan's neck. His good arm reached around her back. He tensed and squeezed as if he was trying to pull his daughter inside of him. Cadrina felt the side of her neck going damp. In her eyes, her father had redeemed himself the day he left Cerberus, reconnecting with who he truly was.

"… you're a good man… you've always been a good man… I-will-never… be able to repay you…"

Dylan found words at last "… you h-have… you came back… my little girl… my good… little girl…"

He had used similar words back on Elysium when she revealed herself to him, as he and his wife paid their respects at her memorial in a private ceremony.

"Nothing will ever change that… not what they've done to you…"

Hannah enfolded herself around her family, tightening her hold on his next words.

"…not where you came from…"

Cadrina shuddered. What would make him say something strange like that?

Unless he knew.

Somehow, on some level, he knew as did her mother about how she first came into being. She could not remember if it was a conscious or subconscious desire to impart this knowledge to them in her time within the Interface. It did not matter now.

They knew.

And they loved her just the same.

"… you'll always be our little girl…"

"… I l-love you, D-Dad…"

Cadrina was content to absorb their warmth, wanting the moment to last forever but knowing it was a childish desire. There would be more moments like these as long as they all wanted them. As Cadrina separated from her mother and father, she drew and folded their hands together, holding them between her own and shaking them. She wanted her parents to forgive each other. Her gesture was understood and accepted as Hannah rested her head on Dylan's chest beneath his arm.

Grunt broke the tender atmosphere to Liara's chagrin "Beehahk…too much mush… I'll be outside…"

"Junior…?" Cadrina said with playful sternness, her back to the young krogan. "… I'll take care of you later!"

Liara squinted at him, causing Grunt to shift uneasily. If the amount of embraces Cadrina had given others was any indication, there were a few reserved for him which would no doubt be very humiliating in the right venues.

Grunt shrugged off the threat with a grin "…you can try!"

He made sure the lounge door closed completely behind him before he turned and stomped down the hallway past a deployment of C-Sec and Alliance officers.

Confident he was out of earshot, he quietly exhaled his thought of Cadrina's impending revenge.

"…heh, heh, heh… Mom…"

Cadrina then extended an inviting hand to her love "Liara…"

The asari had an expectant look "Yes, Cadrina?"

"There's… something I've been meaning to…"

"Yes," interrupted Liara, smiling radiantly as she walked to Cadrina with a slowly accelerating gait.

Hannah and Dylan giggled silently as Cadrina fumbled out "You know Mom and Dad… they- they love you…"

"Yes…"

"We still need to clean up this whole big mess even before…"

"Yes…"

"…I don't even have a ring yet to do this right… a new ring…"

"Yes!"

"What I'm trying to say, Liara…"

Liara sprinted to her lifemate to be "Yes-yes-yes - I will, Cadrina… I will!"

Cadrina caught her and crushed her lips upon hers as a married couple looked on and sighed with their own memories of how they first fell in love and chose to spend the rest of their lives together. Liara hugged them after parting with Cadrina, receiving a warm kiss on the cheek and a slightly longer hold from Hannah.

Liara nervously brushed her lips and asked "Cadrina… no-no, it's a silly question!"

Cadrina took a shoulder "What is it, Liara?"

"What you told your mother… you were there… in the afterlife? Did you see…?"

"I saw Benezia… she was beautiful, just like you described her… she's proud of you, too – uh, she – she is proud of you, I mean…"

Hannah commented "Uh oh! A dreaded side effect of Weeping Willow Syndrome," she nudged Cadrina's head with a finger "MMM-Mush Brain!"

Liara's quizzical look dissolved into giggling as she leaned into Hannah. Cadrina stared at the two soul sisters. She never noticed before, but she thought she could see some similarities in the way they smiled and the way the light reflected in their eyes.

Hannah snapped her out of her gaze "Hey! What's the matter, Mush Brain? Something on me besides her?"

Cadrina scrunched up happily. They probably already knew deep inside.

"Nothing, Mom…"

Mother, father and future bride surrounded Cadrina in a loving embrace. Cadrina swelled with hope and a feeling of great accomplishment for everyone present…

She had showed everyone a way to triumph over fear through love and fulfilled a promise to a long dead creator and his race, had met with him and expressed thanks for helping to give her life, and was now free to live the life she wished with a love to call her own.

Liara had the answers to the mystery of this vanished race, found someone who started out as a great friend that later became so much more, fought beside and risked everything for her, and found acceptance and love within a new family.

The fury that burned inside Hannah for so many years started to peter out with the knowledge that she would one day see her mother again, no longer fearing death. Hannah would most likely be charged for absconding with the flagship of the Fifth Fleet. The possibility of discharge did not bother her. She was not so sure she wanted to continue in service as a starship captain anymore. The idea of joining her husband and daughter in aiding recovery efforts sounded more appealing.

Dylan had spent years trying to keep his past with Cerberus behind him, atoning for them as he tended to his family and pursuing a career as a rescue tech. The war forced him to confront and overcome it and his darker half, putting an end to the organization and finding absolution at last through his daughter. For the first time since his childhood, in spite of the work that lay ahead of him, he felt completely at peace…

Cadrina, still locked in her loved ones' arms, looked upwards in her reverie. There seemed to be a haze about her as she picked up on another presence looking on her. This presence had been with her through every step of her journey and she sensed that it wanted to continue following her as so many she knew had done before, for as long as she lived, wanting only the best for her…

Cadrina Ellen Shepard tilts her head to one side and smiles with complete contentment and gratitude at you.

She mouths "…thank you…"

FIN

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- The name Gideon means "destroyer" or "mighty warrior." In the Old Testament of the Bible, he was not a man of great skill in battle but he had faith in God and was appointed by God to be a judge of the Hebrew people. Gideon wanted proof that he was the right man and so asked for three miracles which came to pass. In the story _Mindfields_, Cadrina gives her childhood self three predictions in order to set herself on the path to reunification with the Interface, which also all come true!

- In the opening paragraphs, I tried to describe as best as I could the feelings pretty much everyone had in the days following Sept 11th. Even on crowded rush hour trains, everyone was more courteous than they normally would be…

- I got a huge lump in my throat when I saw the scene in the _Lord of the Rings_ movie _The Return of the King_ when Aragorn and the crowd kneeled before the hobbits declaring "…you bow to no one." Had to re-work that and use it here!

- The science fiction series Bablyon 5 (SPOILER AHEAD) also tackled the question of the purpose of evolution of life in the galaxy, the war with their ancient enemies the Shadows ending when humanity and the other races declared their new-found maturity, no longer needing the elder races to tend them and shape their lives.

- The original main idea and inspiration for the Interface stories was the old Sega Saturn game Panzer Dragoon Saga (SPOLIER AHEAD). At the end of the game, after guiding your character through his quest to restore balance to his broken world, the fourth wall is momentarily removed and the character sees that it was the player controlling his actions. I thought it'd be really freaky and cool if at the end of the Mass Effect trilogy something similar would happen with Shepard as the player momentarily loses control of him/her and he/she calls the player to task for everything that happened to them. Players spent a lot of time customizing their Shepards and making decisions that shaped the universe they tread in – figured it was only fair that for a little bit they should see what it's like to wear the mantle of a god and have their creations, like Job, ask why they endured what they did. Unlike the way the game really played out…

- The other main concept I wanted to include was the question of intelligent life in the universe. To me, either extreme is worrying. Whether we really are all alone in the universe or one of a myriad of lifeforms in it, I think it pays for us if we stop fighting amongst ourselves, get our act together and see what's out there. And it could be that the reason that we haven't stumbled across any messages from the stars yet is either we are listening for them all wrong or any life that existed at all never made it far enough to send messages. Or maybe they just couldn't care less about their neighbors…

- Suggested soundtracks:

_* Promise_ by Two Steps from Hell – from when Grunt starts cheering to after Emily Wong's blog entry

_* End Titles _and_ Finale _from the_ Tron: Legacy_ soundtrack by Daft Punk – envisioning the end credits for this "movie," during _End Titles_ the Interface control pylons would come up against a black background and border the lower half of the screen. A lifeline – Cadrina's – would come up the middle of the screen and sections of it would then flash as vid windows popped out from them on alternating sides and points on the lifeline, showing the cast as well as scenes from the story. The pylons and lifeline would retract as _Finale_ came on, transitioning to a traditional credit crawl. I think both tracks kick ass and seeing how this Shepard has a technological origin, they are the perfect sign off as they were with _Tron: Legacy_.

- I'm really glad and thankful that you've all enjoyed the stories I've written so far. When I first customized Cadrina Shepard back in November of 2007, she was just a game character; something attractive to look at while playing through _Mass Effect_ over several weeks. She has since grown and evolved greatly in my mind along with the games and inspiration from other fanfiction writers. Now Cadrina is like a daughter to me. I love her dearly and sometimes felt really badly for the hell I put her through, so I had to make sure that in the end the rewards were all the sweeter. And just like any proud papa, I'm happy that she has won the day, still lives and is loved dearly by family and friends. Even when I leave her, she will still continue on with her life. Awaiting new adventures…


End file.
